An Emergency Chief saved images of Mazón’s arrival at the Cecopi building: “They were not eliminated”Pradas and Mompó asked that the accent on València be removed, that “aquest” be changed to “this” and “tipus” to “type”, according to the witness.
“In the face of these things, if they tell us something, we put it in,” said Suárez in reference to the Es-Alert messages.
The deputy director of Emergencies testifies that he was ignored when he asked that Es-Alert advise taking refuge at height
The deputy director of Emergencies of the Generalitat Valenciana, José María Ángel, testified this Thursday in the trial for the events of the DANA of September 2023 that he asked the then advisor for Universal Justice and Victims, José Luis Cortés, to issue an Es-Alert advising citizens to take refuge at height, but he was not heeded. Ángel explained that he made this request on September 12, when the meteorological situation was already very serious, but Cortés considered that it could generate “panic” among the population.
According to Ángel’s testimony, he warned cortés that the DANA could cause very heavy rainfall and strong winds, and that it was necessary to take preventive measures to protect the population. He specifically suggested sending an Es-Alert message advising people to stay at home and, if they were in a vulnerable area, to take refuge at height.
However, Cortés refused to issue the alert, arguing that it could cause unnecessary alarm and that it was better to wait and see how the situation evolved. Ángel insisted on the importance of taking preventive measures, but Cortés did not change his mind.
The Es-alert system is a public warning system that allows the authorities to send messages to mobile phones in a specific area to warn of imminent risks.it was activated for the first time in Spain on September 12, 2023, during the DANA that affected the Valencian Community and other regions.
The trial for the events of the DANA of september 2023 began this week in Valencia. Several witnesses have already testified, including victims of the floods and representatives of the Generalitat Valenciana.The prosecution accuses the authorities of not having taken adequate preventive measures to protect the population.
