Teresa Ribera, Spanish Minister for Ecological Transition and candidate for the post of European Commissioner, defended on Wednesday the action of the services which launched the alerts on the day of the deadly floods of October 29, judging it “dangerous” to call them into question.
“I want to salute here the work and dedication of the civil servants who issued the information, as it was their duty,” the minister declared before the Spanish Congress of Deputies, deeming the criticism aimed at them “deeply unfair and profoundly dangerous”.
Settling of scores in Brussels
Since the disaster which left at least 227 dead according to a latest report, the right-wing regional executive of Valencia and the central government of socialist Pedro Sánchez have been attacking their respective roles in the management of alert and relief, very criticized by the victims.
The controversy has reached Brussels, where the appointment of Teresa Ribera as European commissioner is blocked by the right, at the initiative of the Spanish People's Party, which demanded accountability for these deadly floods.
“Experience shows that early warning constitutes the real capacity to deal with phenomena of heavy precipitation and sudden increases in flow” of rivers, the minister also told the deputies.
Carlos Mazón, the president of the Valencia region, much criticized since the disaster, recently recognized “errors”, while criticizing the services dependent on the central state, and in particular the red alert triggered in the morning by the National Meteorological Agency, affirming that this type of alerts had “occurred 36 times during the last 10 years without any of them being followed by sudden floods like those” of last month.
No “failed” state
“Over the last five years, only one alert out of 400 concerning heavy rains and a risk of flooding has been issued at the red level,” Teresa Ribera replied on Wednesday, referring to “the most relevant warning (…) for be able to respond in advance and identify the most appropriate means to protect the population. “But it is of little use to have all the necessary information if the person who has to respond does not know how to do it,” added Teresa Ribera.
“We do not live in a failed state, we live in a rule of law and we have public services that function to protect the population and which we must all respect, value and strengthen, because knowledge, science and trust in institutions are our best allies in the face of risk,” concluded the minister, in a response to the numerous criticisms aimed at the authorities since the floods.
