As Spain’s flood death toll rises, authorities under fire for warning system failure | DW News

[@rebeccagutierrez1960]

Here on the island of Puerto Rico, we grieve with Valencia. We are so sorry. You will get back on your feet. Be strong.

[@Natalia-pc7fm]

Puerto Rico has suffered many natural disasters and know what suffering is. Thank you for your solidarity. ❤

[@DementiaDon]

floating island of garbage 😂 let me get you some paper towels.

[@CatherineSTodd]

@@DementiaDon : are you trying to be funny? It's not. I reported your post.

[@DementiaDon]

@@CatherineSTodd MAGA! Trump 2024!

[@Andy-i6f]

Condolences to Spain

[@grokeffer6226]

R.I.P. to the victims and their families. 🙁💔

[@1Thedairy]

So terribly tragic! And the girl who wouldn’t leave without her dog so was airlifted out brought me to tears. Our heart goes out to you from the UK

[@beaulieuc8910]

another reason I don't have pets

[@pepiluci75]

@@1Thedairy

[@senoritasofiavalencia]

I live in Valencia, and I received several warnings (first orange, then red) from AEMET on my phone before the situation became as severe as it has been. However, many people seemed to misunderstand the danger of the phenomenon or did not receive the warnings. I’m actually surprised by the number of casualties, because having experienced it firsthand and seeing it now, I would have expected even more. But the coming days may reveal a higher number... I'm so sad for my city of adoption. I managed to gather dozens of bags of winter clothes to donate today, thanks to my neighbours, but we’re still in need of drinking water.

[@pepiluci75]

[@arwen_2.0]

algunos lo recibieron a las 8pm de la tarde. Eso no dejo margen a mucho.

[@1Thedairy]

I wish I could help but live in the UK

[@juang.4718]

​@@arwen_2.0Pero en la Diputacion de Valencia se lo tomaron en serio y mandaron a sus trabajadores a casa a mediodía...

[@beaulieuc8910]

I don't know why people don't hoard some drinking water in case of an emergency. I always have an emergency cupboard with useful things and grab bags

[@innerdinosaur2757]

My condolences to the deceased and their families and friends 🥲

[@alexandraban4180]

Have visited this amazing city 3 weeks ago. I can't believe what they are going through these days. My heart goes to all those who lost the loved ones. May they rest in peace😔

[@juanharocorbera1577]

i am from valencia. the valencian country government is more worried for economic interests instead human lives. when the alarm government has been actived it was too late. the incompetence of valencian government is colossal

[@rinskeraphael8755]

My son lives in valencia aswel, he is fine. Lives on the seaside. Hope you are doing wel, the weekend wil bring rain again. Hope you have food for in case. Be safe 🙏❤

[@pachanish]

Absolutely agree with you ....the Valencian local government s incompetence is stark and they ve acted like utter buffoons The warnings came 8 hours after the rains began and they kept downplaying all of it throughout the incident . Terribly upsetting that the local government did not act prudently nor correctly.....too many lives were lost while they fiddled around

[@Motinha-l7c]

Portugal está a mandar ajuda para Valencia. Cuidem-se! Oremos pelas vítimas de Valência.

[@tierraprometida8866]

The Valencia local goverment is ruled by Partido Popular, the conservative and right wing party

[@cechly]

but the economic interest would now be even worse no ?

[@S_Lv]

♦️We pray for Spain 😢

[@jinkynibalbos1209]

🙏

[@kalayne6713]

Natural disasters not only kill but cause billions of dollars of damage and trauma that never really leaves. RIP all the victims. Sending blessings from Australia where both floods and fires kill each year. 💔

[@cryptokingz615]

this wasn't natural. weather manipulation

[@DementiaDon]

@@cryptokingz615 By whom?

[@cryptokingz615]

@@DementiaDon they run a weather modification project in that area. it's to convince people of their climate change agenda to force people into smart cities.

[@martiansoon9092]

HALF A METER rain in 8hrs or so is not easily soaked, specially when it hits drought toughened soil and mountains. The only real way to lessen these extreme events is: STOP BURNING FOSSIL FUELS.

[@martiansoon9092]

Part of the problem lies on drought killed vegetation and doil that does mot allow any water to penetrate it in first few hours of rain. Having trees and absorption places could have taken few centimeters from the flood, but the amount was way above these measures.

[@xavim3821]

Do you believe there was no extreme weather before the industrial revolution? This is a natural phenomenon that has happened before in this region, nothing to do with fossil fuels. The actual path to lessen the damage in the future is building better water management and alarm systems.

[@supr_be]

this is so true. if the forests were left intact, this wouldn’t have happened.

[@opinionista.]

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the people of Valencia and surroundings for their sad loss of friends, family and loved ones. Condolences to all...

[@sergigorchs7329]

The warning system did not fail. Politicians did. AEMET had already warned authorities since Tuesday, but the region government didn' t trigger the alarms until 20:30. By that time people were already trapped.

[@colinsace1]

I don’t think anyone can be ready for flash flood I watched and seen a lot of terrifying scenes and like they all say it happened so quickly don’t think anyone could be prepared for that situation sadly. Plus Spain is quite a dry country I still can’t wait to visit next year. Sending love to all over valencia 🇪🇸 💙💙 from wales 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 you been in my thoughts.

[@enjoystraveling]

I agree I don’t think anyone can be ready for a flash flood, I was in one along time ago in Texas and at least I made the choice not to try to rescue my car but to stay up on the second floor. I didn’t notice it till too late because I was already on the telephone talking about a relative in the hospital unrelated to the hurricane that just sat on top of my city, raining hard Prayers to all the people the region that they get the help they need in reality.

[@samfisher7953]

Death toll is growing with each hour. First they reported about 95 victims, then 150, then 155, then 158...

[@AnhNguyen-hn9vj]

damm. it looks bad.

[@marcolaz9893]

Because it is affecting more places in the country and more and more corpses are being found in Valencia…

[@marcaranda2013]

Lot's of people trapped in cars, rural cities are destroyed it is caos here, probably more than +1000 people dead, it's like a war zone

[@scanpolar]

I live in Spanish Valencian province near Murcia capital. I knew it ! My wife was aware of it . But the DANA didn't hit heavily our finca .

[@brasilcr4962]

The Spanish Government did everything they could in regards to the alarm systems. My condolences to the people of Valencia 🙏🏻

[@MrMaximino92]

They did not.

[@Lyrielonwind]

It was the president of the Autonomous Community who failed to raise the alarm on time and he shouldn't have dismantled the Valencia Military Emergency Unit. He's responsible for most lives lost but won't resign. They never do.

[@Paulookingatyou]

Less cement and more green areas 😮

[@beaulieuc8910]

and less humans and cars

[@DementiaDon]

Yea, no amount of green area is going to help with that amount of water. It was like a years worth of rain in one day, there' nothing you can do about that much water.

[@mikepotter5718]

How many disasters can any country have before they start running out of money for other things?

[@Fido-vm9zi]

Many places throughout the world have received great amounts of funding for flood prevention & other work. I don't know about that in this case, but yes in many.

[@DementiaDon]

@@Fido-vm9zi There's not really any way to be prepared for something like this.

[@tierraprometida8866]

The warning system is ruled by regional goverments in Spain, and the region of Valencia is ruled by Partido Popular (the right wing), and another important detail is that the regional Rescue Group of Valencia was dismantled by Partido Popular when they won the last regional election

[@Casaholl799]

Meaning? what is your conclusion. Im interested to hear!

[@20nationarmy]

​@@Casaholl799conclusion is self explainatory if you read again

[@Ominousheat]

@@Casaholl799 Grow up.

[@Ominousheat]

The right-wing, the world over have a psychotic apathy towards the consequences of global warming. to accept it is to admit to it's causes which is to risk loosing those corrupt backhanders which is what they are really bothered about.

[@garethking1639]

@@Casaholl799maybe they shouldn’t have disbanded it? What do you reckon?

[@rachmonte]

We are praying for everyone. 🙏 So shocking and sad. This happened in America after hurricane Helene recently and they are still searching and cleaning up. Rebuilding will take a long time. So tragic and heartbreaking. 😢

[@beaulieuc8910]

praying will do nothing, why not donate money

[@ekno2506]

Heartbreaking.

[@bijouxmoe]

Warning System completely nonexistent in Valencia. We didn't receive any emergency texts until 8pm when it was already too late. In the Midwest in USA where I grew up, we have Tornado Alarms that blare loudly throughout the city. Valencia government should consider adopting a similar alarm for floods. Not only do we have a Tornado warning, we have a system where all TV programs are stopped, and an Emergency broadcast comes on to warn citizens as well. And usually if it's expected to be a deadly weather, the governor or mayor holds press conferences a few days or weeks before to inform citizens. None of that ever happened in Valencia.

[@manuelrodriguez2637]

Yeah they've had floods before but nothing on this level... This is typical human behaviour, unless there is a major catastrophe the authorities won't implement the necessary changes... Always implemented after the event

[@MrMaximino92]

Welcome to Spain.

[@Lyrielonwind]

The president of the community dismantled the Military Emergency Service to "save" money. He also failed to give the alarm. Now they are blaming the socialist Central Government. Mazón knew about the emergency days before and only gave the alarm at 8 pm when people were on the road off work when he could have given the alarm hours before and not so many people would have died.

[@xpainx5185]

If any city in the USA got 472 liters in one hour, there will no be any house standing, and don't make me start talking about the power distribution. I have been almost three days without power for a storm.... living 10 millas from the White house. The huracanes start in África and are tracked for weeks. These storms in the Mediterranean are fast sometimes less than 12 hours.

[@perlasngsilanganan831]

Here in Madrid we always look at the weather in our mobiles if it rains or has tormenta and we know. But people are really not looking , that's the problem.😢

[@MrMaximino92]

They government failed to send alerts to people’s phones.

[@voranartsirisubsoontorn]

First time hearing about this. Truly sorry for Spain and get well soon.❤

[@AngeloXification]

I mean there is so clearly something going on with the climate, also with the amount of energy we use how can people not understand these changes affect delicate balances. Where I live we have strange weather far more often. Even those a lot older than me can see a difference.

[@marisavl1]

The red alert by sms was delivered at 7:36 am .

[@Natalia-pc7fm]

Put Utiel (the origin of the flood) and Paiporta (the worst hit destination) in Google Maps. It rained so heavily in Utiel that the water dragged trees, hundreds of cars and debris down the river destroying everything in it’s path (roads, bridges, more cars). It wasn’t even raining in Paiporta, they were simply buried by the avalanche coming from upstream, their streets full of piled up cars and everything else, leaving the street level, bottom floors and garages under several meters of water and mud, and under all that, many drowned residents. 😢

[@darrylbaker4802]

May the victims of this terrible tragedy Rest In Peace 😔💔

[@farahriasat727]

My prayers for the affected people of both cities.

[@rominho151]

here in Brazil, we grieve with valencia. Be strong!!

[@LolitaTancinco-j7k]

May the souls of the faithful departed, valencians Rest in Peace!

[@martiansoon9092]

We are at 1.5C. And we are going to be permanently above that line in coming few years. 15 years to 2C. And yet still our emissions and following temperature are at or above the predicted worst case scenario. Our governments are driving us toward rapidly worsening climate conditions with extremes like in Spain and everywhere in the world. Food prices are already up due to climate change. And that can be seen any time we go shopping. This is also one of the main drivers of inflation as studies shows. This means byebye to 2% inflation targets. And the share is only growing. Also losses on all houses, cars, life and so on are adding the costs rapidly for everyone. Inflation will be far worse in coming years.

[@hime273]

Climate Change Climate Change Climate Change 🤡

[@foobarf8766]

We are over 2C already 1.5C omits convective energy sources

[@michaelbobek3543]

🙏 for Spain 😢

[@heathermcdermott2171]

😇💙😢prayers for ALL

[@rachaelcaskeyart]

Prayers for Spain

[@durabo7612]

Gota Fria happen on a regular basis across the Iberian peninsular. The suggestions from the "expert" are pointless the amount of water in this Gota Fria was not only unexpected it was unprecedented. Global temperatures have now crossed the threshold, so unless the worlds leading polluters act, nothing will change.

[@MrMaximino92]

Too many Spanish are minimising it by saying that it’s normal to have the DANAs in that area, completely ignoring the fact that this was the worst DANA ever.

[@snorfallupagus6014]

Look at a map before you buy real estate.

[@pointblank0020]

Not like anyone can buy real estate anymore

[@Weegie2]

I'm living in Cabanyal, Valencia right now and I got a red warning (danger to life) weather alert on my phone on Monday night in advance of the weather on Tuesday. The truth is most people disable their weather alerts on their phone as it's a nuisance most of the time. If I didn't have that alert I wouldn't have had a clue until it was actually occurring. The day after there was still hundreds who didn't have any idea of the devastation.

[@AlexandriaVictor-Morgan]

Prayers sent to everyone, RIHEAVEN 2 all that lost their lives,,,,Lord pls keep them all,,,

[@staceycatron4185]

We are seeing the same in the U.S. from a hurricane. Our prayers are with you

[@juliendufour4513]

Louise, it's impossible to get prepared for such event...

[@ElJean]

Nobody can save you at the time of disaster not even the president but humans always underestimate the power of nature. Prayers for all the people affected.

[@beaulieuc8910]

prayers don't help, try sending money to them

[@larry785]

Japan prepared itself 20 years ago for this type of flooding - We need to be like Japan!

[@carlospf639]

Does the unreal idealization of Japan prevent you from an easy search on Google? Just 6 years ago, in 2018 there were 200 dead in Japan due to similar floods

[@ashcom8952]

That’s devastating!! Lack of warning… is the lack of infrastructure also caused this disaster??

[@MrMaximino92]

Secondary roads and railways aren’t in their best conditions in Spain.

[@georgeschilens8557]

Boy ,this stuff is happening all ovrr the world, same lame response! 😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢

[@prozac1127]

You can prepare for rain fall but never for sea fall

[@Alex-gt1wy]

The warning system was a failure, due its began at 20:30pm when the mud floods where at the towns and was too late for starting the evacuations of the people. In fact I recieved the message alert at that hour on my phone, like the rest of my family. On the other hand, some universities where more concerned about the Dana, so they gave and advice to the students for staying at home and not coming to classes. This alert of the universities, was gave at 11:00am So in the end, the responsibles of his failure were the Regional Government of Valencia, because they are responsibles for sending those alert messages on the phones. And also some business owner, who insisted to their employees going to work when some of them where well known about the risk of the Dana

[@hime273]

You hear that everybody? The solution is simply planting trees, and building parks to soak up the water. WTF😂😂

[@paulc6766]

It helps. But there are many other things to do. You sound like you can't be bothered.

[@foobarf8766]

Bitcoin mining is making 22.6 Hiroshimas per day of convective energy, that energy has to go somewhere, most goes to oceans adding to evaporation which adds to rainfall.

[@ramboseemenomore1728]

The weather wars are coming 😢

[@Jc-ms5vv]

😂😂😂😂

[@hamish1309]

We as a species, need to put our best minds to work to find out what conditions were like the last time this happened in our earth's history so we can better prepare our infrastructure.

[@Arcturus-One]

Like North Carolina, but in major cities. My condolences to all.

[@fritagonia]

I wonder if you can prevent floods by planting trees and meadows that can soak up excess water. Like the climate reporter was talking about. I guess the fact that we saw a lot of cars/and or pavement and asphalt does not help with absorbing water aswell.

[@fredsd.3264]

Bravo Sánchez!,,,,💪💪💪💪💪

[@NATURBESTATTUNGEN]

Yes, it is true that the climate is changing. The greenhouse effect is also true. But as long as the farmers continue to burn their plantation waste and the government talks about “tradition”, they are still supporting global warming through these CO2 emissions! Spain doesn't care much about nature, so this indifference towards it is taking its revenge!

[@pointblank0020]

The rain in Spain does not stay mainly in the plain 😞

[@IraDavydova-k9j]

"My fear lady"...

[@JoseGonzalez-wq5jd]

Can there be AI/robot drone rescues someday?

[@marcolaz9893]

Vivo en España, y esto ha sido una tragedia, lamentablemente todavía quedan más muertes por confirmar, las imágenes de la devastación hablan por sí solas😢

[@kayadelarenta4554]

What a terrible situation. Good Lord. What a total nightmare. Poor people. Total devastation.

[@divyanaik8064]

True,whewther report reached public very late,at last so many lost their lives 😢.they could have warn them and evacuate before itself

[@ResolverResolver]

The cause and foundation of the problem is italy and France Paris,Rome,Napolitano,Napoli,America, Rome,Taranto,Torino,Sardegna?,,,

[@nicki531]

Hello people that's not what happened. It's called stop bombing.

[@belladogga1]

Dreadful

[@TupiniquimCultura]

praying from brazil

[@doubleot1984]

EU better send y'all some money 💯💯

[@albertmuhe5529]

Casi en todo los lugares ,estamos expuestos a desastres,es una tristeza ver algo asi. Ojalá se recuperen,pronto.

[@MasterAzx]

They are living the adventure.

[@manuelponte10]

Who?

[@theyarelying2u]

Cloud seeding

[@marciecorda5209]

Wery WEIRD- weather manipulation?

[@randallan8158]

This is why you can't depend on your govt to protect you. It happened in the USA with two hurricanes where the federal govt didn't even respond to the disasters for a couple of weeks. It took volunteers to rescue people and help communities recover.

[@MrMaximino92]

Same here in Europe.

[@benfreiler4054]

This is literally not true, FEMA did respond, but crazy people in right-wing militias who are misinformed have hampered much of the response, forcing government responders to field from designated facilities instead of going door-to-door.

[@martiansoon9092]

7% per 1C warming, but at local case that goes very much higher than just global 1.5C, near 10% more humidity, higher rate due to much warmer regional conditions. Also the weather patterns are shifting due to climate change.

[@CatherineSTodd]

Beautiful Spain, where I have been wanting to return for so many years... Climate Change is real. Hope the families will get the help they so desperately need.

[@leeblanche4983]

Hunga Tonga-Hunga Haʻapai eruption The amount of water vapor ejected was 10 percent of the stratosphere's typical stock. It was enough to temporarily warm the surface of Earth. It is estimated that an excess of water vapour should remain for 5-10 years.

[@studio107bgallery4]

And on top of that, the solar flares are really moving and shaking the earth…..heating things up

[@albertducharme3937]

This is how quickly everyone can lose everything they have. Spain,, no police or first responders all of them including local politicians with disaster relief for all citizens. Shame on Spain as a whole incompetence reigns towards the people in need.

[@nickchung8961]

"As we warm our atmosphere..." Yeah, who's doing the warming? Certainly not all of us useless eaters in gas guzzling beaters

[@albertmuhe5529]

España ,Valencia😢

[@thierrygauvin4059]

Ne pas rater, cette occasion pour la gestion des secours, récupérer le maximum de denrée périssable non souillé, après avoir dégagé les routes , acheminer vers des entreposages sécurisé, malheureusement

[@jandara100]

Valencia, Spain is considered one of the world's most LGBTQ+ friendly cities: Gay-friendly neighborhoods Valencia has many gay-friendly neighborhoods, including Ruzafa and El Carmen. Gay bars and clubs Valencia has many gay bars and clubs, including: The Muse: A popular bar with a diverse audience, good music, and cheap drinks Planet Valencia: A relaxed bar with mainly women and delicious cocktails Cafe de las Horas: A famous gay-friendly bar in the Old Town with a baroque-style interior Deseo 54: A famous club where most late night partying takes place on Friday and Saturday nights Gay Pride Valencia hosts a Gay Pride celebration. Gay Games XII Valencia will host the Gay Games XII, an international sporting and cultural event, from May 25 to June 7, 2026

[@kuriousarts]

Just like anything that has an exponential nature, by the time we see and acknowledge it happening, it's already too late. The focus on carbon resulting in more "green consumption" is only going to make matters worse.

[@LibertynFreedom]

Try buying more carbon credits. That should take care of weather problems....😢

[@thecitizen87935]

Spain become 3rd world country what a pitty all need to help spain

[@vincesteer7960]

Stop cloud seeding !

[@MrMaximino92]

Please see a psychologist!

[@Jc-ms5vv]

😂😂😂😂

[@TheProBush]

Just another reason to forget Gaza...At least Valencia's hospitals are not bombed

[@niikoblakartey-corsy5008]

It looks like the system failure took zll by surprised

[@adinamedrea5303]

HAARP

[@fintamaria2429]

😢😢😢😢

[@SteveSmith-kd9if]

🌏 = the 🧚‍♀️ red 🧟‍♂️🐉 = GONE REAL SOON

[@vikasb1400]

Spain should outsource its weather department to DW TV as done by Germany.

[@pepiluci75]

The weather department worked ....but many other things have failed ...

[@zeljkakrznaric2440]

😢

[@BrandyHeng007]

Act of God or man-made Disaster

[@johnhaigler407]

Spain needs Ryan Hall you'll. Mr. Weatherman, and Max Velocity. Weather Gurus.

[@LindaGordon-jf7de]

It's depopdrop weather war fair

[@victoriagomez5870]

I am Spanish but living in London since 26 years. This is typical for Spain. Chaotic and unorganized!

[@mar_csbu7503]

No no es típico

[@pepiluci75]

No, such a high number.of casualties is not so "typical" ...

[@arwen_2.0]

like the uk is super well organised, right? lol dude do not make me laugh. I am a Spaniard and lived in the uk too for many years.

[@TheLiebde]

​@@arwen_2.0 ya... típico, ya salió el listo que como lleva tropecientos años en "London" para él todo lo español ya es una mierda.

[@jfcg2023]

Pues quédate allí guapi, como si UK fuese la Meca de la organización

[@mattermax]

nobody will predict a disaster.

[@stevencole7331]

Weather forecasting and with all its technology is struggling with forecast because what the past weather is not a good guide today with more stable weather patterns. As humans we don't want to change and give up our modern conveniences so this will continue so we need to adapt to the new reality . Judging where on lives and the potential for severe weather even though that area has been stable for sometime . Water is a big one living near water and it doesn't need to be big . It can be a creek . This looks very similar to the north Carolina event in the United states . There are not many places to hide but if you live near water you may want to relocate

[@BBirke1337]

Let's resettle all those climate change deniers to those now empty flood zones! Anyway, Christmas is saved, for children now know the difference between a climate change denier's brain and Santa Claus: Santa Claus may possibly exist!

[@MarcoLozano-f3x]

🚶

[@robertoveliz3385]

Very clear. Thank you. Not from USA NEWS.

[@tanikkapadgatte2685]

🙏🏾😔🙏🏾