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The AEMET contradicts Mazón, the warning about the risk of breaking the Forata dam was issued three hours before activating the alert
- November 17, 2024
The potential collapse of the dam Forata was alerted in time by AEMET to the Integrated Operational Coordination Center (Cecopi) on October 29 at 5:30 p.m. Just three hours before the Generalitat Valenciana will activate the system Es-Alert to send mass messages to the population in Valencia.
During this crucial meeting, members of the State Meteorological Agency ( Aemet ) highlighted that between 17:00 and 18:00 hours the severe conditions of the dam were addressed. Although discussions on the risk of rupture were underway, no mass message was sent to the population until 20:11 hours.
The president of the Generalitat, Carlos Mazón, said that the "imminent" risk of the dam breaking was the main reason for activating the system Es-Alert However, shortly before the service was activated, the Secretary of State for the Environment announced that it was impossible to guarantee the safety of the dam.
Mazón He also said that when he learned that the situation at the dam was getting complicated, he went to Cecopi, mentioning that the information received about the situation was insufficient , inaccurate and late .
Sources from the Ministry for Ecological Transition, also present at the meeting, refuted the president's accusations and maintained that Cecopi discussed the possibility of a break two hours before the arrival of MazónThe meeting, which began at 5:00 p.m., held a steady stream of discussions about the risk to the dam and even explored the possibility of evacuating affected municipalities.
Despite being alerted, during this crucial hour, the Cecopi did not make any decisions. At 6:00 p.m., the meeting was interrupted, and the telematic connection was turned off, resuming an hour later when the debate began on the types of messages to be sent to the population . However, the Ministry of Justice and Interior stressed that the Cecopi did not stop working at any time during the management of the rains and floods that affected Valencia.
It was noted that a specific message could be launched for the area affected by the dam. Forata, asking residents to move to upper floors, as well as another message for the rest of the population, since it was not only this dam that represented a risk.
Faced with the slowness of decisions, the president of the Hydrographic Confederation of Júcar, Miguel Polo, took the initiative to contact the mayors of the most affected localities, warning them about the serious situation.
To further complicate the situation, Aemet stated that it never suggested that accumulated rainfall would reach a maximum of 180 liters per square meter, as it mentioned Mazón. On the contrary, throughout the morning, Aemet insisted that the rains would exceed this threshold, pointing out that there were risks in areas that would not receive rainfall and that could be impacted by unexpected floods.
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