In testimony before a judge in Catarroja, Remedios Mazzolari, vice president of the Diputación de Valencia and a member of the Partido Popular (PP), said she was never informed of the escalating emergency at the barranco del Poyo on the afternoon of the disaster. Her account conflicts with that of Amparo Fort, the PP mayor of Chiva, who said she warned Mazzolari as events unfolded. The dana struck Valencia on October 29, 2024, leaving 230 dead.
Mazzolari said she had no communication with Fort that day and denied they spoke by phone at 15:30. Fort said she described the critical state of the rambla and discussed deploying the Unidad Militar de Emergencias (UME) to Utiel. Mazzolari called the discrepancy a possible mistake, maintaining that she neither called Fort nor received a call from her.
Fort described another contact: she testified that she sent Mazzolari an audio message at 19:47, after the barranco del Poyo had overflowed, and called the situation disastrous. Their conflicting accounts put the timing and passage of warnings between local officials and authorities at provincial and regional level at the center of the inquiry. Examining magistrate Nuria Ruiz Tobarra is leading the investigation at the Catarroja court.
Fort also testified that by 17:00 she had informed the Diputación de Valencia, led by Vicente Mompó (PP), about the extreme conditions in Chiva, where the barranco del Poyo originates. Overflow from the watercourse caused severe flooding in towns including Paiporta and Catarroja, where the article reports 55 and 25 deaths, respectively. Fort described widespread flooding in Chiva, with water levels toppling barriers along the barranco.
The Generalitat’s mass mobile alert, known as Es-Alert, went out at 20:11 on October 29, after severe flooding was already underway. Judicial reporting has examined the timing and content of the warning as part of a broader inquiry into how flood risks were communicated and whether authorities had enough information to act sooner. The Generalitat had also notified municipalities of potential risk through the 112 Comunitat Valenciana emergency service on October 25, four days before the disaster.
Testimony from Catarroja mayor Lorena Silvent described the conditions when the alert arrived. “When we received the message, panic broke out. Vehicles were floating,” she said. The court is reconstructing the sequence of events, including the Poyo’s overflow and communications between local officials and authorities at provincial and Generalitat level. Later reporting said the judge had heard from more than 500 witnesses over 22 months.
The dispute between Mazzolari and Fort has brought renewed scrutiny to the official response and communication failures during the disaster. The case also raises questions about political accountability and crisis management. Debates over political responsibility and emergency response have surfaced in other cases, including the state bailout for Tubos Reunidos, where political influence played a decisive role in basic decisions.
Spain’s dana events, sudden storms that trigger flash floods, have repeatedly exposed weaknesses in emergency coordination and communication between local and regional authorities. The 2024 Valencia disaster prompted an ongoing judicial investigation and calls for clearer warning protocols. Its findings may have lasting implications for how Spanish institutions handle future floods and public alerts.
