Heavy rain caused by DANA Adam flooded wide areas of the Comunitat Valenciana on 19 October. The worst affected were Pego in Alicante province and Oliva in Valencia province. Water levels rose in roads and residential areas within hours, flooding low-lying zones. A resident of Pego said a river of mud had formed outside his front door. Several people had to shelter on roofs until they were picked up by air rescue teams.
Rescue operations were stepped up on Monday morning. The Unidad Militar de Emergencias, fire service, the Guardia Civil, Salvamento Marítimo and local police coordinated evacuations, searches and helicopter flights. The Generalitat Valenciana activated alerts via ES-Alert, closed roads and urged people not to travel in the affected areas. The integrated emergency coordination centre Cecopi met to coordinate the response.
During clearance operations in Oliva, emergency crews confirmed the discovery of a dead woman. Information about any further victims and the overall damage was not yet conclusive. According to the authorities, the priorities at this stage are rescuing people, providing emergency medical care and securing critical infrastructure.
The weather system brought unusually high rainfall in a short time. Saturated soil and the rapid rise of barrancos and small watercourses made the situation worse. Water accumulated particularly heavily in the Marjal de Pego-Oliva, a low-lying wetland between the two municipalities. Additional support teams were requested from the surrounding area.
Alongside the town centres of Pego and Oliva, parts of the comarcas La Safor and Marina Altawere also affected. Municipalities closed access roads, diverted traffic and set up temporary accommodation. Weather services warned of further local flooding in saturated catchments and strongly advised against entering closed areas or attempting rescues independently.
The authorities announced a detailed damage assessment for the coming days. Decisions on assistance for those affected, restoring damaged infrastructure and possible preventive measures will be made once the situation has stabilised. The reports are based on statements from emergency services and regional authorities on 19 October; the relevant bodies say they will publish reliable overall figures only once the emergency rescue phase is over.
Editor: Andreas M. Brucker (Article created with AI assistance).