Carlos Mazón has appeared before the media on Saturday without taking questions and stated that he requested the intervention of the Army last Tuesday, when the storm started in the region, at 3 p.m. He claimed that after multiple daily requests, once most of the accesses were guaranteed and opened, there are more than 7,000 soldiers in action. However, there are discrepancies in the timeline of events.
On Tuesday, October 29th, Mazón made a statement at 1 p.m. stating that the storm would move towards Cuenca. He thanked the coordination of all emergency services and mentioned that the storm was expected to decrease in intensity around 6 p.m. in the Valencian Community. The president tweeted this information on his profile around 1:18 p.m., indicating that the red alert for rainfall in the northern interior of Valencia was still in effect.
The following day, on Wednesday, October 30th, the regional president deleted the tweet from his Twitter account after the storm hit Valencia. Several users noticed this on social media. It is evident that there was a change in communication regarding the events surrounding the storm.
On Thursday, October 31st, Mazón tweeted for the first time at 5:16 p.m. about the Army’s involvement. He mentioned that he requested the Army’s support to strengthen logistics and aid distribution to the population. Shortly after, he announced that a first wave of Army personnel would be working starting at 8 a.m. on Friday. He also stated that the Minister of Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, would join the regional coordination team for disaster response.
On Friday, November 1st, in an interview with Antena 3, Mazón responded to the Minister assuring that the Army’s request was made on time. However, there is confusion regarding the timeline of when the Army assistance was requested. The Valencia region declared a level 2 emergency only for specific areas at 3 p.m., while the request for the Army was made later at 3:21 p.m. According to the Ministry of Defense, the government of Valencia sought help from the Military Emergency Unit (UME).
The timeline of events and the discrepancies in the communication regarding the Army’s involvement during the storm in the Valencia region have raised questions about the effectiveness of the response and coordination between different levels of government. It is essential to ensure clear and timely communication during emergencies to provide the necessary support and assistance to the affected population.
