Two people have died in Oliva as helicopters spent the morning rescuing residents from the flooded coastal area. Water reached at least 1.5 metres inside some homes and submerged the road to the beach.
A 79-year-old woman was found dead at her home in Oliva by the Unidad Militar de Emergencias (UME). A 64-year-old man also died after suffering a heart attack at a campsite in the town, government sources confirmed.
The deaths bring the toll from dana Adam in Spain to four since the storm began on Saturday. Another woman was found in Cabrera de Mar, while a second died on a beach in Sagunto. The emergency in Oliva is separate from the naval movements off Ceuta covered in earlier reporting.
On 19 October, dana Adam brought severe flooding to the Valencian Community, particularly the Safor district and northern Alicante province. Rainfall exceeded 600 litres per square metre in parts of Safor and Marina Alta, with up to 638 litres per square metre recorded at certain locations. Around 2,000 people were isolated in Oliva, while approximately 200 were cut off in scattered rural properties, including country houses and chalets.
Rescue helicopters worked through the morning, carrying people from homes scattered across the fields and from the coastal settlement. About 15 helicopters took part in the operation on 19 October, as flooded roads kept ground crews from reaching many properties. Priority went to single-storey houses, where escaping rising water is more difficult. In some Oliva homes, floodwater rose above 1.5 metres on Monday. Firefighters said many rescues had to be carried out by air because road access was difficult. A woman and her two children were among those evacuated from the roof of a flooded house.
The road linking the town to its beach area is about three kilometres long and was underwater. Alberto Carmona waded towards the coast with two neighbours; the water had dropped from chest height to around his waist. His parents were safe on the second floor of their home, but their mobile phones had run out of battery. He wanted to check on them in person.
María Sánchez moved with her dog to her nearby in-laws’ home, where water and electricity were still working. A Protección Civil Es-Alert sounded at about 5.30am, warning residents in Oliva of the regional emergency. The family managed to move belongings and furniture upstairs before water entered the house after 6am. It eventually rose to about a metre.
Regional authorities ordered residents in Oliva and other coastal municipalities in southern Valencia province to shelter in place. The Cecopi emergency coordination meeting was brought forward to 7am, and the UME deployed units from its BIEM III emergency response battalion, based in Bétera. Firefighters and Generalitat forest firefighters joined the response. Police and Civil Guard personnel also took part, along with medical teams and helicopters from several agencies.
Emergency crews were active near the street called Barranc de l’Escudeller, where small ravines cross orange groves close to the Pego-Oliva marshland. A local resident said the area is prone to flooding. The scattered homes among the groves and flooded access roads left some properties unreachable by ground vehicles. Firefighters and ambulances worked at the scene, alongside police and excavators, while a UME truck made its way through the water.
At the town’s multipurpose pavilion, the Consejería de Sanidad set up a service for rescued residents; many of those isolated in Oliva were directed there. The helicopters operated from the area during the morning. RTVE reported that around 15 helicopters were involved in rescues across the affected areas. After 3pm, sunshine returned to Oliva as the storms weakened and moved north.
