This Sunday marks two months since the torrential rains of the DANA wreaked havoc in Valencia. For thousands, life remains in disarray — homes destroyed, businesses shuttered, and vehicles swept away. The recovery has been painstakingly slow, and with questions swirling around the region’s leadership on that critical day, the demand for answers has grown louder.
The whereabouts of Carlos Mazón, the president of the Valencian Government, during the peak of the crisis, has become a focal point. While the public clamours for clarity, the details remain frustratingly opaque.
A day of questions without answers
On the day of the DANA, it took hours to establish Mazón’s location. Initial reports suggested he was at a private lunch, which later morphed into claims of a work meeting. Allegedly, this meeting involved offering a key position at the regional television network to a journalist. However, the Generalitat has maintained that Mazón was acting as leader of the Valencian branch of the People’s Party (PP) at the time.
To date, no expense receipt for the lunch has been produced, with officials deferring responsibility to the party. “The party will show it — eventually,” they claim. But when? And is this the definitive version of events? The public is left wondering.
Missed alarms and unanswered calls
As the DANA unfolded, the region’s crisis coordination centre, Cecopi, debated critical actions — including issuing mobile alerts and lockdowns. Mazón, however, was absent. While he insists he was in “constant contact,” he has not clarified with whom. A lone exception is the mayor of Cullera, who described their exchange as brief and inconsequential. Meanwhile, at least 15 mayors of affected towns confirmed they received no communication from Mazón that day.
During this time, the Júcar River Basin Confederation issued 60 warnings to the Generalitat, highlighting the urgency of the situation. Yet Mazón has offered little explanation about his decisions during those critical hours.
Daily realities in the aftermath
In Massanassa, one of the hardest-hit areas, the streets still bear the scars of the disaster. Vicente Moreno, a football coach from the town and current manager of Osasuna, describes the surreal blend of emotions as his hometown struggles to recover. “You spend the entire day removing mud, and when the alarm goes off, you don’t want to get up,” he shared during an interview with Cadenaser from the streets of Massanassa. For Moreno, the tragedy has been deeply personal — his garage still bears the stains of water and mud, and he recalls the anguish of losing communication with his children during the height of the storm. The sense of abandonment by institutions has been a recurring theme among survivors.
Gratitude towards the volunteers
Moreno, who returned home days after the disaster to help with cleanup efforts, echoes the gratitude many feel towards the volunteers from all over Spain. “Without the volunteers, this would have been a tragedy beyond imagination,” he said. Over 120,000 vehicles were destroyed, many still buried in underground garages, and the town remains far from fully restored. “It’s impossible to truly understand what happened here unless you see it in person,” he added.
More could have been done
Moreno’s sentiments underscore the lingering frustration among residents who feel that more could have been done to prevent the scale of the devastation. While images of submerged streets and piles of debris circulated widely, Moreno insists that the reality on the ground was far worse. “Even now, much remains to be done,” he said, pointing to ongoing cleanup efforts and the slow pace of reconstruction.
A slow pace of aid distribution adds to frustration
Another frustration people have concerns the slow pace of aid distribution. Two months after the disaster, nearly 700 families a day continue to apply for direct aid to cover personal and material damages caused by the DANA. As of now, over 33,000 applications have been filed, but the process remains painfully slow. Only 5% of requests have resulted in payouts, amounting to just €31.8 million distributed to 1,585 families. This represents a small fraction of the 223 fatalities and the thousands who lost homes, vehicles, and livelihoods.
The delay has sparked outrage, with many Valencians feeling abandoned by their government. In Paiporta, one of the hardest-hit towns, residents voiced their frustration over the sluggish pace of aid distribution. “The government has promised help, but where is it?” asked one local resident.
While 783 additional payments are being processed, representing another €13.4 million, it is evident that the current pace cannot keep up with the growing number of applications. In contrast, aid for businesses and self-employed individuals has been processed more efficiently, with 76% of requests already approved. For those affected, the wait for relief has added to their mental and emotional strain, compounding an already dire situation. “We need more than promises; we need action,” said another resident
The people deserve the truth
As the region moves into a phase of reconstruction, the pain and frustration of those affected remain palpable. Survivors have raised questions about the government’s preparedness and response. Could the devastation have been mitigated with better coordination? Could lives and livelihoods have been saved? The lack of transparency has only deepened public discontent. The people of Valencia deserve a full account of what transpired during the DANA — the unvarnished truth. Therefore, many of them will make their appearance next Sunday December 29, at the third demonstration against the mismanagement during the DANA floods and to demand the resignation of President Mazón.