Campo mobilises in solidarity with victims of Valencia floods

by Maria Jesus Corrales

The scenes of storm-driven destruction being televised from Valencia have sparked a strong feeling of solidarity amongst the people of the Campo de Gibraltar as emergency services redeployed resources to the stricken region and municipalities marked by the tragedy.

On Thursday, 24 members of the Cádiz fire brigade and Cádiz rescue teams left for Valencia with eight vehicles and a boat to carry out search, tracing and clean-up work in the main affected areas while, in Algeciras, San Roque, La Línea and Los Barrios, minutes of silence have been observed and Halloween festivities suspended as a sign of respect.

Additionally, the organisations and people of the Campo area have begun to arrange collections of food and basic necessities for those who have lost everything but their lives.

At time of writing, the torrential rains and subsequent flooding have caused 202 deaths, most of them in Valencia province, with two in Letur, Albacete, and one, a British national, in Málaga.

The country is in a state of official mourning, but the unprecedented storm has left some of the victims on the ground reeling and helpless due to a lack of food supplies, fresh water and the resources necessary to remove vehicles, wreckage and even bodies from the streets.

In response, the Spanish Government has deployed the Army to reopen roads, support residents and rebuild the roads that, literally, have been washed away.

Cádiz was not slow in mobilising in support of relief and rescue efforts, with a team of firefighters sent into the disaster zone.

The team was composed of officers from seven of the province’s fire stations (four from the city of Cádiz, three from Chiclana, seven from Algeciras, two from Jerez, two from Puerto de Santa María, and one each from Ubrique and Villamartín) and four members of the search and rescue team, taking with them two dogs, two heavy rescue 4x4 vehicles, two rescue group vehicles, three 4x4 pick-up command vehicles, a logistics vehicle, and a boat plus tools and equipment.

The convoy from Cádiz arrived yesterday at the Requena fire station in Valencia and immediately began coordinating with the province of Valencia’s fire brigade.

The president of the Cadiz fire brigade, José Ortiz, had spoken personally with the president of the Valencia fire brigade to offer him Cadiz's help.

“We had no doubt that it was necessary for our personnel to be present in Valencia to support the work following the terrible effects of the storm,” Mr Ortiz said.

Mr Ortiz thanked the volunteer firefighters and those taking part in the mission for “the effort and dedication we know they will put in, as they demonstrate every day with their work and professionalism.”

This Saturday, officers of San Roque’s emergency services will be collecting donations for the victims of the Valencia storms at shopping centres across the Campo de Gibraltar.

Furthermore, the Plataforma de Pensionistas de San Roque, an association of retired persons, is also opening its doors in the Alameda de San Roque to from noon.

In La Línea, religious organisations such as the Hermandad de Jesús del Gran Poder have started an urgent collection of non-perishable food, blankets and clothing, drinking water, and basic hygiene products to be sent on to the victims, with the collection point being Calle Méndez Núñez 7.

The Catholic charity Caritas, the Banco de Alimentos food bank and the Red Cross are also receiving help from citizens wishing to remain anonymous and have their usual lines open for those who wish to collaborate.

At a local government level, Algeciras city council has organised a campaign to collect non-perishable foodstuffs, with those who wish to contribute invited to make deposits at the old Military Hospital building in Calle Alfonso XI or the municipal building in Calle Regino Martínez from 8am next Monday, November 4. Both collection points will be open until 3pm each day, with the old Military Hospital reopening between 5-7pm.

Those wishing to donate outside those hours can call 647-402888 to arrange a vehicle to pick up goods from their location.

Financial donations will not be accepted and all the products collected will be sent on to Generalitat Valenciana depots.

In Algeciras, the traditional celebration of Tosantos was suspended due to the official days of mourning observed across Spain.

Also, in La Línea, Halloween events have been postponed to Sunday, November 3, and will run from 4 – 9pm.

All the municipalities in the district have also observed minutes of silence as a gesture of respect for the victims of this tragedy.

La Línea held the minute's silence on Wednesday while, in Los Barrios, San Roque and Algeciras, there were gatherings of councillors and municipal workers on Thursday morning at the respective town halls.

The mayor of San Roque, Juan Carlos Ruiz Boix, called for “better and greater coordination” to avoid, as far as possible, the storm’s terrible consequences.

“We know that, many times, they can't be foreseen, but at other times, with the technological advances that we have, we can give enough advance warning to avoid these catastrophes,” he said.

“We are used to seeing these tragedies in other parts of the world, outside of our own. Unfortunately, this time it has happened in our country.”

For his part, the mayor of Algeciras, José Ignacio Landaluce, reminded citizens about the need to take extreme precautions, especially when going out on the road and, though he pointed out that the forecasts do not go beyond heavy rain for Algeciras, “that does not mean that we should lower our guard.”

In the province of Cádiz, which has also been on Orange alert for flooding over the last week, the 'Campiña' region has been the worst hit, specifically Jerez de la Frontera where houses and garages were flooded though no personal injuries have been reported.

Firefighters from the Medina Sidonia fire station had to rescue 12 people trapped in a house in Finca Las Poquerisas, in Alcalá de los Gazules, due to the overflowing of the Álamo river.

In the Campo de Gibraltar, firefighters were called on to remove two fallen trees, one in Los Barrios and the other in Algeciras, and to assist in the rescue of a person in a vehicle at a ford. The driver had escaped the car and was found uninjured when the rescue services arrived.

The only positive aspect of the rains for the Campo area is the significant rise in reservoir levels, bearing in mind the severe drought that the Campo de Gibraltar has been facing for more than a year.

The Charco Redondo reservoir has risen from 18.34% capacity on October 30 to 26.01% on November 1. Guadarranque is at 34.77% of its capacity, up from 26.32% just three days ago. However, despite the rains, reservoir water levels are still low.