The recent flash floods (DANA: Isolated Depression at High Levels in Spanish) affecting Valencia have left a trail of destruction and death never before witnessed in Spain. Over 211 people have lost their lives, hundreds are still missing, and thousands have lost their homes, vehicles, and businesses.
In addition, over 15,000 houses have been severely affected, and entire towns—like Paiporta — have been almost entirely evacuated to new temporary safe areas under the protection of the Spanish military and Protección Civil.
Beyond the human losses, which are the central tragedy, the secondary effect of these terrible flash floods is the destruction of Valencia's small and medium business ecosystem. The DANA has primarily affected small business owners in towns and cities in the countryside.
The loss of entire stocks, the destruction of stores and warehouses, and the subsequent looting and rioting have caused considerable damage to the whole of the entrepreneurial community of Valencia.
The floods in Valencia have damaged some 4,000 to 4,500 businesses, of which 1,600 to 1,800 establishments have been destroyed, according to the Valencia Chamber of Commerce estimate.
Of the 65 municipalities affected, approximately half, 32, have damage that can be considered severe, according to the exact estimate. According to the data available so far, the municipalities whose economic activities have been most affected have been Alaquàs, Albal, Aldaia, Alfafar, Algemesí, Benetússer, Catarroja, Llocnou de la Corona, Massanassa, Paiporta, Picanya, Sedaví, Utiel and the neighborhood of La Torre in Valencia city.
The Chamber points out that “the Alfafar Parc Shopping Park, Sedaví Shopping Park, MN4 and Bonaire Shopping Center would be the most affected large commercial facilities, not only by flooding but also by looting that has also affected businesses in urban areas”.
In the 65 municipalities most affected by the DANA (including the neighborhoods of Valencia), there are over 54,289 companies, 123 business parks, and multiple industrial estates. This means that the logistics and warehousing networks are compromised even if the business is not directly affected. To all effect, Valencia's business and industrial capability has almost dropped to zero at this moment.
The bullet train service was also affected and it is currently canceled. Two key areas of the tracks have been rendered ‘un safe’ and thus, the Spanish government has stop all train services into and from Valencia.
The roads are also severely damaged. Over 100 main roads and highways have been destroyed or damaged. Here is the current most updated list of roads affected by the DANA:
The Dirección General de Tráfico (DGT) has informed that the roads cut in the province of Valencia are the following:
On the other hand, those that are conditioned are:
In the province of Castellón , the AP-7 remains block.
The Spanish government has reported that they have launched several communication channels “to channel all the solidarity”, to prevent it from being scattered “despite the goodwill”. The Vice-Presidency of Social Affairs of the Generalitat Valenciana, in collaboration with social entities, has opened a communication channel via WhatsApp, with five numbers available to citizens and civil society, “to analyze, channel and distribute resources effectively and attending to priorities in the most appropriate times and moments”.
The five telephone numbers enabled to coordinate the aid actions are the following, according to the regions of origin:
Utiel (659289726)
Horta Sur (682177249)
Ribera (619975059)
Hoya (690027099)
Castellón (679161664)
At the same time, the website somsolidaritat.gva.es has been set up to channel all the proposals through a form.
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