A report made public by a Spanish organization and relayed by the press highlights the significant proportion of elderly people among the victims of the floods which occurred at the end of October in Spain.
Two weeks after the deadly floods which affected Spain and more particularly the Valencia region, more detailed data on the victims was published, in a report from the Centro de Integración de Datos (Spanish data integration center, Editor's note). ) relayed by the Spanish media El Pais.
Comprised of a forensic office and a state security forces and agencies office, the Centro de Integración de Datos' mission is to collect and supervise identification reports of people killed in disasters.
Among the lessons of the first statistics are the age of the victims: almost half of the people who died – 104 – were 70 years old or older. A colossal figure given that the population aged over 70 only represents 15% of the population of the 28 municipalities where the victims were found. The proportion of elderly people among the victims is therefore very high: almost 80% of them were over 50 years old.
9% of victims were minors
Among the causes mentioned: are the stories of certain victims who indicate that the reduced mobility of the elderly could have been fatal for those who were in homes located on low levels and affected by the flood.
In addition, these same data from the Spanish organization reveal that 7% of the dead were over 90 years old, even though they represent only 1% of the population affected by these floods.
Conversely, young people were less affected by them. Only 9% of victims are between 10 and 40 years old, although they represent 34% of the population of the affected localities. According to the report, 9 victims were minors.
A majority of victims are men
Other data: of the 216 deaths recorded in a previous report (the death toll has since risen to 224, Editor's note), 131 were men and 85 women. Foreign victims are also to be deplored: there are nine Romanian victims, four Moroccans, four Chinese, two British and one national from Ecuador, Venezuela, Ukraine, the Netherlands, Tunisia, Colombia and Paraguay .
The data collected also shows the municipalities most affected by the disaster: a third of the deaths in the province were recorded in Paiporta (45 deaths) and Catarroja (25 deaths). There are also 16 deaths in Valencia, 15 in Alfafar, 11 in Massanassa, 10 in Benetússer, 10 in Torrent and 10 more in Picanya. Information to be taken with caution, the city recorded being the one where the victim's body was discovered and not the one where he resides.
Hugues Garnier Journalist BFMTV
