Katarina N., a Serbian woman who moved from Belgrade to Valencia with her family a few years ago, witnessed the horrific floods that hit this part of Spain. Fortunately, the area of Valencia where she lives was not affected by the floods because the riverbed was diverted. Unfortunately, their cousin found himself “face to face” with the flood but managed to escape thanks to his resourcefulness.
On October 29, Spain, more precisely, the Valencia region, was hit by terrible rainfall, where 490 liters per square meter fell at one point, leading to heavy flooding. According to the latest information, more than 150 people have died, and the search for the missing is still ongoing.
As Katarina told us, her family was lucky to live right in the center of Valencia, which was not affected by the floods due to the diverted riverbed, which literally goes around the center. This solution was implemented precisely because the city had suffered many times in terrible floods, so they decided to solve that problem by diverting the rainfall away from there. Unfortunately, this solution obviously resulted in other parts of the city, surrounding villages, and towns being endangered.
“It had been raining a little bit since last week, but it wasn’t anything special. That day, there was a strong wind, and warnings about the weather were coming all day, but nothing was alarming. My mother, Zorica, and I got dressed really nicely, but we were hot all day, and there were no signs of bad weather. In the evening, it got dark, the wind was blowing outside, and it was drizzling, but it was only around 8 p.m. that a warning arrived on the phone not to go outside,” said our interlocutor Katarina N.
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She says the notification came too late.
“Our cousin, who drives an ambulance in the Emergency Service, was on the highway at 8 p.m. The water was already up to his half-wheel. He decided to turn off and park, but in 15 minutes, the water reached halfway up the door. He escaped to a nearby store, where he slept on the shelves. He climbed higher and higher on the shelves as the water rose; he was running. Only after six hours of agony, around 2 a.m., did the water level start to drop. Then, he couldn’t get home any other way but on foot. That’s how he returned to the city,” explains Katarina N.
She says he barely made it through the street, with mud and wrecked cars, parts of trees, and various objects that literally blocked all traffic.
“However, at 8 p.m., floods had already formed, and people were outside. Maybe they should have sent a warning earlier, but they didn’t. At least on TV. Somewhere. Nobody knew what was coming,” explains Katarina, who lives with her family in the center of Valencia, about 10-15 minutes from the flooded area.
As she says, they were spared by the bad weather because they were lucky that the canal they had built earlier was functioning.
“Many people died because they went out to park their cars and didn’t come back. They shouldn’t have moved,” adds Katarina.
Let’s remind you that there are thousands of rescuers on the ground searching for the missing and providing assistance to the victims. There are numerous videos showing people being rescued from rooftops.
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Source: Telegraf
Photo: AP/Shutterstock/Telegraf