The armed forces deploy 7,800 troops in Valencia

The Chief of the Military Emergency Unit (UME), Javier Marcos, has appeared at Moncloa Palace together with the Secretary General for Land Transport, Marta Serrano, after the meeting of the Crisis Committee to monitor the effects of the DANA. The President of the Government of Spain attended the meeting, which was chaired by the King at the UME Headquarters at the Torrejón Air Base (Madrid).

Torrejón Air Base / Moncloa Palace, Madrid

The President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, together with the Second Vice-President and Minister for Work and Social Economy, Yolanda Díaz, during the meeting of the crisis committee chaired by the King, Felipe VI (Pool Moncloa/Fernando Calvo)

Regarding the armed forces' response to the catastrophe, the chief of the UME pointed out that 7,800 soldiers from the UME, the three armies and the Royal Guard will be deployed in the area this afternoon, in addition to 5,000 soldiers working from their own centres to provide logistical support. "We will be offering these capacities and many others that may be requested, or that we see the need to deploy for the benefit of the entire Valencian Community and, in this case, for those affected in the 69 municipalities in the province of Valencia," he said.

He also pointed out that members of the army "have been and continue to be" in these municipalities, "attending to all the requests that spontaneously arise", since "we receive calls from the autonomous community itself, from mayors and from neighbours", although he warned that mobility is limited because "the infrastructures are destroyed".

"It is so complex, and that means it requires two things: discipline and patience. And I know this is difficult because emotion and pain make this so, but I ask you, with this feeling of solidarity with the Valencian people, to please understand that the 7,800 members of the armed forces are doing everything they can, that they are doing double shifts". "We are at every door, in every street, and where we cannot be today, we will be there tomorrow, because we cannot move around as easily as we would like to. We are in all the villages, on the roads that connect them, on the bridges and at isolated houses. We are missing no one out, and my soldiers are working themselves to the bone at all times," he reiterated.

In an operational situation 2, the CAAC is in charge of the emergency

The Chief of the Military Emergency Unit (UME), Javier Marcos, and the Secretary General for Land Transport, Marta Serrano, appear after the meeting of the crisis committee to monitor the effects of the DANA| Pool Moncloa/José Manuel Álvarez

On several occasions throughout the appearance, General Marco alluded to the fact that we are "in an operational situation 2", which "means that the autonomous community is in charge of the management of the emergency, and that the state places at the disposal of the autonomous community all the tools it has at its disposal, including the UME - the spearhead of the armed forces - when the autonomous community in question, in this case the Valencian Community, requests it, which is when all the tools of the state are placed at its service, and this was done from the very first moment of this crisis".

He said he believes that "things are being done well and the situation is improving, but time is needed". As for the armed forces' current priorities, the first is rescue and the search for missing persons. In this regard, General Marco explained that support is sometimes delayed where it is not a matter of life or death "because what matters to us most is the lives of our citizens". Other vital tasks are locating the dead, providing logistical support to the population and soldiers, opening roads and clearing water and mud.

He concluded by referring to "another intangible capacity" of the armed forces "that the Valencian people are grateful for", which is "accompaniment". "Our soldiers receive so many hugs and thanks for what we are doing. Motivation is very high and it will stay that way".

Taking stock of the infrastructure situation

The President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, together with the Minister for Defence, Margarita Robles, talks with King Felipe VI upon his arrival at the meeting of the crisis committee to monitor the effects of the DANA| Pool Moncloa/Fernando Calvo

For her part, the Secretary General for Land Transport, Marta Serrano, took stock of the situation regarding transport infrastructures in the main areas affected by the DANA, again appealing to the population to "restrict mobility there as much as possible".

Serrano pointed out that work is ongoing to resolve the problems on the state road network, especially on the A-7, where a provisional traffic diversion is being set up, given that "traffic between the north and south of Spain is cut off as we speak". The N330 and the N322 roads, where work is also being carried out to set up temporary diversions, are also seriously affected.

The secretary general insisted that she is prioritising the "clearance of infrastructure, as this is also the way for emergency units to access the affected area".

As for the railway network, Serrano referred to "serious damage to the high-speed line linking Valencia with Castilla-La Mancha and Madrid", especially in the Torrent and Chiva tunnels, which are the most affected, stressing that "we are working 24 hours a day" to have the high-speed line "open as soon as possible", with an expected time frame of two weeks, depending on the weather conditions.

The secretary general explained that freight traffic has been able to circulate since Friday and that on Saturday the C5 and C6 commuter lines in Valencia were reopened, as well as the long-distance services, the so-called Euromed, and the regional services that connect with the provinces of Castellón and Catalonia. However, other commuter lines are badly damaged, including the C3, but there is optimism about the imminent reopening of the C1 and C2 lines. "The objective is to reopen the services and the circulation of Valencia's commuter trains and regional services as soon as possible, both in the Valencian Community itself and links with Catalonia and Castilla-La Mancha", she said.

Non official translation

More news

Tags:

• DANA (Isolated Depression at High Levels)
• Government of Spain