The judge overseeing the case in Catarroja has rejected a request for a face-to-face confrontation between Emilio Argüeso, former regional emergency secretary, and Amparo Folgado, the mayor of Torrent, in the investigation into the October 2024 DANA floods in Valencia. Judicial reporting put the disaster’s death toll in the province at 233 by October 2026. The ruling comes amid scrutiny of local authorities’ actions and communications during the flooding.
Judge Nuria Ruiz Tobarra said in her ruling that the case file contains “overwhelming” evidence directly contradicting the account given by Vicente Mompó, president of the Diputación de Valencia. Mompó had asserted that the Cecopi emergency coordination center discussed only the risks posed by the Forata dam. The judge’s assessment points to wider awareness among officials of dangers elsewhere, particularly at the barranco del Poyo, whose floodwaters contributed to the disaster.
The controversy intensified after Mompó said he could not recall a impressive phone call from Amparo Fort, the mayor of Chiva, who alerted him at 17:00 on October 29, 2024, to the escalating threat at the barranco del Poyo. Mompó also said he was unaware that Spain’s national weather agency, Aemet, had issued a red alert, the highest level, earlier that day. His testimony has brought the flow of warnings between officials into focus.
Further complicating the timeline, Folgado testified that she contacted Mompó after 18:00 on the day of the flood to warn him that the barranco de l’Horteta, a tributary of the Poyo, was overflowing. Mompó has not acknowledged the call in statements to the court or parliament, or in public appearances. It was also absent from the list of communications he submitted to the judge.
Argüeso’s defense sought a confrontation with Folgado, arguing that her statements were false or inaccurate compared with its client’s account. The judge ruled that such a measure is exceptional and unwarranted in this case, noting that Argüeso did not mention a conversation with Folgado in his testimony on April 11, 2025. Without a direct contradiction between their recorded accounts, the court found no basis for a confrontation.
In her witness statement, Folgado maintained that she had informed Argüeso by phone on October 29 that the barranco de l’Horteta had overflowed. Investigators are examining what officials knew about the flood risks and how they responded.
The wider investigation is also examining the timing of regional emergency coordination and the content of public warnings. The Cecopi meeting reportedly began at about 17:00 on October 29, while the Generalitat’s ES-Alert was not sent until 20:11. Judge Ruiz Tobarra has scrutinized both the delay and the alert’s wording, information from reporting by El Mundo and RTVE. The alert’s timing is basic to assessing whether residents had enough time to reach safety.
Testimony from Catarroja mayor Lorena Silvent offers a local account of conditions that evening. She said the alert was not useful to her municipality because commercial areas were already flooded and people had taken refuge in the town hall. Silvent said the municipality had activated its local emergency coordination structure, Cecopal, on October 26, and that floodwaters continued rising from 20:11 until about 02:00. She also testified that Cecopi did not contact the municipality during that period.
The court is also examining how officials monitored and coordinated information about rising watercourses. A document submitted by Valencia’s Provincial Firefighters Consortium assigned coordination of river and ravine flow monitoring to the Generalitat’s Emergency Coordination Center. The document was signed by Jorge Gil, the consortium’s chief inspector. The judge later requested the complete file containing watercourse measurement scales.
In related rulings, Ruiz Tobarra has identified clear indications that former Generalitat officials Salomé Pradas and Argüeso could have prevented deaths, with deaths in La Torre among the cases highlighted. They are the two people formally under investigation in the criminal proceedings, according to À Punt. Argüeso’s defense has appealed a recent judicial order concerning his role in the emergency response, so the findings remain subject to further review and are not convictions.
The case has drawn comparisons with other high-profile investigations into public officials’ conduct, including scrutiny of the Guardia Civil and SEPI, which has also raised questions about accountability and transparency in Spain’s institutions. A recent analysis of political pressure on judicial cases examines how these events are testing standards for public office.
Spain’s DANA events, episodes of intense rainfall that can trigger sudden flooding, pose particular risks in the Valencia region, where floodwaters can rise rapidly and overwhelm infrastructure and emergency services. The 2024 disaster prompted calls for clearer coordination among local and regional authorities, as well as stronger protocols. The proceedings are examining whether warnings were communicated and acted upon in time, an issue with implications for future emergency management.
