Urgent Call for Aid as Chera Dam Faces Threat Amidst Ongoing Torrential Rains in Valencia

The relentless rain continues to batter the Valencian Community, with the latest storm system, which began earlier this week, claiming at least 158 lives across the region. As of Friday morning, heavy downpours have particularly affected Castellón and southern Valencia, prompting the State Meteorological Agency (Aemet) to issue warnings of severe weather conditions.

Emergency services are closely monitoring the Buseo reservoir dam in Chera, Valencia, which is currently at a level two alert due to the risk of structural failure. Fortunately, water levels appear to be stabilizing, with reports indicating a slight decrease in accumulation.

Residents of Valencia have awakened for the third consecutive day with anxiety, as the demand for urgent assistance grows. Many affected individuals, including children, the elderly, and those with health issues, are in dire need of food and water. While local communities have rallied to collect supplies, the challenge now lies in effectively distributing these resources. To aid in this effort, an additional 500 military personnel have been deployed, joining the 1,200 already engaged in rescue operations.

The devastation has been particularly severe in Paiporta, where 62 bodies have been recovered, according to the local mayor. Many victims were trapped in ground-floor apartments that had never previously flooded, while others were caught in businesses that became inaccessible due to debris.

Numerous municipalities remain without essential services such as running water, electricity, and telecommunications. Vehicles are overturned along roadsides, although a lane of the A-3, a critical route connecting Valencia to Madrid, has been reopened for emergency vehicles. Local officials express concern that the urgency of the situation may fade as time passes.

In Chiva, another heavily impacted area, the mayor has described the desperate conditions faced by isolated residents. The community is in urgent need of baby formula and food suitable for the elderly, as entire homes have been lost, leaving many unaccounted for.

As of Friday, approximately 23,000 residents in Valencia are still without electricity, although over 132,000 have had their service restored. Iberdrola is deploying generators to areas where power can be restored safely.

Volunteers, many of them young people, are trekking from Valencia to the hardest-hit areas, organizing through social media to provide assistance with cleanup and supply distribution. However, the Generalitat Valenciana has urged citizens to refrain from traveling to affected zones, as this is hindering emergency response efforts.

The Ministry of Transport has allocated €24.8 million for the urgent reconstruction of severely damaged roads in Valencia and Cuenca, including vital routes like the A-7 and N-330.

Support is also arriving from other regions, with a thousand cleaning and waste collection workers from Madrid volunteering to assist in Valencia. The city has dispatched various vehicles to aid in debris removal, while volunteers from Tarragona and emergency personnel from Murcia and Andalucía are also contributing to recovery efforts.

On Friday, the central government joined the regional coordination body, Cecopi, with the Interior Minister present. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez visited the Aemet headquarters, emphasizing the importance of their forecasting work and urging continued caution as the storm system remains active.

The unstable weather conditions are expected to persist throughout the weekend, with Aemet issuing warnings for various regions, including a red alert for Huelva, where emergency services have responded to numerous incidents related to flooding.

As the situation evolves, the resilience and solidarity of the Valencian community are being tested, with urgent calls for aid echoing across the region.