The Aragonese sector of Catarroja could be clean in a week

The Aragon emergency services, mainly 112, continue with their work to return the town of Catarroja, one of the areas most affected by the floods in Valencia, to normality . It has now been a week since the DANA and the staff are cautious with the deadlines for the definitive repair of the area, although the clean-up could come to an end in another seven days. This Tuesday the pumping of water in the garages has finished. “Luckily, no bodies have appeared and that has taken away some of the anxiety,” said the head of the DGA’s Security and Civil Protection service, Jorge Crespo, who has recently checked the situation first-hand on the ground.

Once the work in the garages and basements is finished, “the removal of material ” is the next front that opens. From cars to the belongings that the residents themselves have taken out to the streets, where there is also concern about the accumulation of rubbish, both that which was washed away by the water and that which is normally generated in the houses and could not be removed. In this sense, the head of service has pointed out that the night is an “optimal” work window as machinery can be moved.

From Catarroja itself, the director of operations of the Aragonese deployment, Pablo Acebes, has indicated that the night hours will be used to act on the narrowest streets of the historic centre. At the moment, the sector has been cleaned at 20%. However, when the remaining 80% is resolved, the town will not yet present the appearance it had before last Tuesday afternoon. Jorge Crespo has compared the work to a large public works project and, in fact, the Government has contacted different companies so that they can provide tools or specialized personnel.

“We hope that in the not too distant future things will improve, although it is complex,” said the Minister of Finance and Interior, Roberto Bermúdez de Castro , in the morning. The person in charge of the department has indicated that, together with the Catarroja City Council, technical inspections of the buildings will be carried out for possible collapses, “marking” the situations that may be more “complex”. The regional Executive is also “ concerned ” about the situation of the sewerage system and the mud dragged along. Whatever the case, “ there are resources ” to solve possible incidents. In terms of health, the DGA has sent new 061 teams. In addition, professionals are receiving a booster dose of the tetanus vaccine.

VOLUNTEERS SHOULD CONTACT 112

Bermúdez de Castro has highlighted the “ great coordination between all the institutions of Aragon ” that work on the ground. However, the counselor has asked that, if someone decides to travel on their own to help, they contact 112. “We are at the top of resources. We ask for this in order to be able to stagger the means and the machinery,” he said. The operation has reached 300 people depending on the moment, as explained by the DGA . This Tuesday afternoon there were 240 : 80 firefighters from the three Provincial Councils, 40 from Infoar and other brigades, ten from Civil Protection and 20 volunteers, 20 members of the public company Sarga and 20 drivers of cars and logistics vans.

In addition, there are 75 people in charge of the machinery. There are three backhoes, ten tractor-shovels, seven tow trucks, twelve crane trucks, two telescopic cranes, 18 loader shovels, nine dump trucks, two tankers, one for unblocking, ten fire trucks, four forestry trucks and three dumpers. The list is completed by ten Bobcat loaders, 40 extraction pumps and 40 generators. On Monday, the operation offered 245 meals and dinners to volunteers and part of the population, even with options for coeliacs. Clean clothes have also been distributed. The Government has its own “logistical centre” in Teruel and three hotels have already been set up in Segorbe.

However, the Executive has denounced in the afternoon that a fourth establishment, in Alcasser, has “ left them stranded ”. In a statement, they have pointed out that the tractor drivers have been affected by being left without rooms “after the hotel unilaterally decided not to accommodate them tonight”. They had already been there for two days, a stay paid for by the regional administration within the so-called emergency expenses. “Those responsible for the logistics team have already relocated them to another hotel in the area”, concludes the information.