Ruth Merino, former spokesperson for the Generalitat Valenciana, told a judge she only realized the scale of the deadly dana after seeing TV reports. The court is investigating the regional government's response to the disaster.
Ruth Merino, who served as spokesperson for the Generalitat Valenciana during Carlos Mazón’s presidency, has told a Valencian court that she only became aware of the full extent of the catastrophic dana late in the day, after returning home and watching television. Her testimony, delivered before Judge Nuria Ruiz Tobarra in Catarroja, comes as part of an ongoing investigation into the regional government’s handling of the deadly floods that struck the province of Valencia in October 2024.
According to sources present at the hearing, Merino explained that she did not grasp the seriousness of the emergency until around 8 p.m. on October 29, hours after the Barranco del Poyo overflowed and inundated towns such as Catarroja and Paiporta. The disaster ultimately claimed 231 lives in the region. Merino, who now holds the position of secretary for relations with the European Union, stated that she was unaware of the crisis coordination body Cecopi’s activities until she arrived home that evening.
Despite the State Meteorological Agency (Aemet) issuing a red alert at 7:36 a.m. on the day of the disaster, the Generalitat did not discuss or implement any specific measures regarding the flooding during its Consell meeting, which took place between 9:30 and 10:30 a.m. At the time, Merino was balancing her duties as government spokesperson with her role as finance minister. She also noted that she contacted José Manuel Cuenca, then a top aide to Mazón, at 4 p.m. to discuss the regional budget, and emphasized that no one advised her against reaching out to the president during the crisis.
On the day of the tragedy, President Mazón reportedly spent several hours at a restaurant in central Valencia and later walked through the city with a journalist, even as the Barranco del Poyo was overflowing. The court is now examining the timeline of official responses and the flow of information within the regional administration. The investigation aims to clarify whether communication failures or delays contributed to the scale of the disaster’s impact.
This case highlights ongoing scrutiny of how Spanish authorities manage emergencies and communicate risks to both officials and the public. In a related context, questions about political responsibility and crisis management have surfaced in other high-profile cases, such as the controversy over public aid to Plus Ultra airlines, where court proceedings have also focused on decision-making and transparency at the highest levels.
Flooding events like the 2024 dana are not uncommon in the Valencia region, which is prone to sudden, intense rainfall due to its Mediterranean climate. The Barranco del Poyo, a known flood risk, has been the subject of previous civil protection plans, but the scale of the October 2024 disaster exposed gaps in preparedness and coordination. The Cecopi, the Generalitat’s crisis management body, is designed to centralize emergency response, yet the timeline revealed in court suggests that key officials were not fully informed as the situation unfolded. The outcome of the investigation may influence future protocols for emergency alerts and interdepartmental communication in the region.
