Flash floods in Spain: why so many victims?
Flash floods have caused devastation and chaos in parts of the Valencia region in eastern Spain and other areas. In some places, a year of rain fell within just a few hours. The death toll has risen to more than 150 victims. The disaster was triggered by a weather phenomenon known as a "cold drop" or "cut-off low". Commentators point to failures.
The whole of society is shaken
El Mundo says the EU should help:
“Those affected need support, from psychological counselling to accommodation. ... Around 366,000 people are without drinking water and more than 113,000 have no electricity: they have to walk for miles to get basic necessities. This situation raises the question of whether the government should ask the European Union to activate the solidarity clause, which allows member states to take swift and concerted action to assist another country. No possibility of obtaining support should be ignored and no effort should be spared: the whole of society has just been shaken to to the core.”
Other countries should learn from this
Postimees sees this as a lesson for Estonia:
“This phenomenon last caused flooding in the Valencia region in September 2019, so it was not an unknown phenomenon, only its severity was unexpected. This is all the more reason to criticise the failure of the relevant services and authorities to raise the alarm quickly enough. In some places, people only saw the evacuation warnings on their mobile phones after the floodwater in the streets had already washed away their cars. This should also be a lesson for Estonia: investing in disaster prevention is never foolish or unnecessary.”
Fatalities caused by human error
Eldiario.es calls for far-reaching consequences:
“If further deaths from extreme weather phenomena are to be prevented, social change and a new economic model are needed. ... Because there are people who are responsible for the climate emergency. ... Many local governments have allowed uncontrolled urban development. ... In the provinces of Valencia, Alicante and Murcia, 280,000 homes have been built in flood-prone areas. ... The fatalities caused by the worst cold drop this century has seen so far are now on the list of deaths that should never have occurred.”
Extreme weather warnings ignored
El País asks why nobody in the affected area listened to the weather service:
“This is not the moment - as bodies are still being recovered and victims tended to - to demand accountability. But we can analyse how a phenomenon that was announced before it happened could have such chilling consequences - in a region with a tragic history of flooding. ... The warnings of the national weather service must be heeded. It was already giving notice of an extreme risk on Tuesday morning. That should have put a stop to all non-essential activities. ... But life went on as normal until it was dramatically interrupted by the floods.”
Hold politicians to account
El Periódico de Catalunya asks in shock:
“Why weren't the warning protocols activated much earlier? It is unacceptable that in the 21st century we have had to endure exactly the same horror as in 1957, with the same lack of official information. How can it be that the Valencian president doesn't turn up until 9 pm, when all the access roads are already blocked, dozens of cars are piled up, communication is difficult and people are trapped? ... This situation of helplessness, improvisation, incomprehension and fear will perhaps serve as motivation to improve the protocols. ... There will have to be a thorough review of what has happened, with explanations and an assumption of political responsibility.”
Global financing for climate protection
Avvenire hopes that the upcoming UN Climate Change Conference in Azerbaijan will lead to concrete steps:
“The solutions are there, we just need the political will to implement them. The acid test will be COP29, which kicks off in Baku on 11 November and will focus on a fundamental issue: financing the socio-ecological transformation. And in particular the energy transition - which will require an investment of 35 billion dollars - after a historic breakthrough heralding the 'end of the fossil fuel era' was achieved at the last summit in Dubai. For this to happen on a global scale, massive support for the Global South will be needed.”
Punished by capitalism, not green policies
Instead of strengthening environmental and climate protection, politicians are going back to promoting fossil fuels, Mediapart criticises:
“The European Union, which has always been the most ambitious participant at international diplomatic meetings, is experiencing a strengthening of the conservative and far right forces which is threatening the implementation of the Green Deal, the roadmap for slowing the collapse of the climate between now and 2050. ... There are signs of a backlash against the public policy of the green transition, which is being sacrificed in the name of budget savings and 'punitive environmentalism'. ... But in the face of intensifying climate chaos, this political inconsistency can barely conceal the fact that the punisher is capitalism.”