“We still have one more year”: after the floods, residents of the Valencia region face a huge construction site

Although the water has receded, the tragedy continues for the inhabitants of the Valencia region. In Paiporta, a town near the Spanish city, the streets are still unrecognizable and volunteers continue to work, almost ten days after the tragedy, aggravated by global warming, which struck the province. This is the case of Montse Fernandez, who left her home at 6 a.m. to help the victims. After an hour and a half of driving, she put on a protective suit and plastic boots, took a shovel and helped clear away the mud that still clutters the homes.

“Yes, there’s a lot of work. We still have one year left”she says at the microphone of TF1, in the report at the top of this article. “That's just a garage. Have you seen the state it's in? Imagine all the garages in all the localities affected. It's sad. It's going to be a long fight”she highlights.

We are just here to help all these residents as much as possible.

Francisco Fernandez, volunteer plumber

This devastated garage is that of Ruben Yusa. Exhausted, he tries to organize the cleaning. “Go on for another five minutes and get out.”he says to the volunteers who came to help him. “There are more and more volunteers. We really need them”he emphasizes, grateful. “At first, we were alone to clean without mask, without anything . We didn't even know it could be dangerous.”

At the corner of the street, plumbers intervene urgently. They too are volunteers. He tries to evacuate the mud to unclog the pipes and prevent further flooding. “I am a volunteer, like all my colleagues here. We gain absolutely nothing, nothing. Here, we are just here to help all these residents as much as possible”indicates Francisco Fernandez.

After long days of waiting, reinforcements finally arrived. But the daily life of the victims remains very complicated. Many lack everything. To support them, donations are pouring in from all over the country: clothes, food, hygiene products to last as long as possible. “Water, coffee, detergent and milk”refers to Pilar Sorni, a resident of Paiporta. “I’m going to bring all this to my niece and my husband so they can at least have breakfast.”she explains.

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Feeling abandoned, other residents are demanding more help from the authorities. To protest against the management of this disaster, around forty organizations are calling for a large silent march in the center of Valencia this Saturday, November 9, late in the afternoon.