Week in News: One Year After the DANA

Bon dia. It’s been a year since the floods that devastated Valencia — and the anniversary has stirred both remembrance and reckoning.

A state funeral for the victims will be held on Wednesday, October 29, at the City of Arts and Sciences, with members of the Royal Family and victims’ families expected to attend, according to Levante-EMV. Expect traffic delays and heightened security across the city that day.

Remembering the DANA

On Saturday morning, families gathered to honor those lost in the DANA in a moving ceremony at the Teatro Olympia, reported El País. That same evening, tens of thousands protested against Generalitat President Carlos Mazón’s handling of the floods — the largest demonstration since the disaster, according to Valencia Plaza.

Public opinion surveys show that 75% of Valencians blame the regional government, and specifically Mazón, for the tragedy, according to ABC. Within his own Partido Popular, 61% of voters want Mazon to resign, according to the latest survey by Las Provincias. Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez was not spared criticism either, as shown in a recent poll by Las Provincias.

Meanwhile, questions remain over where exactly Mazón was during the critical hours of the flood. New reports and court testimony continue to shed light on his movements that day. The journalist who attended a four-hour lunch with him will testify in the court’s investigation into the government’s emergency response next week, reports El País.

Recovery and accountability: One year on, emergency response protocols have been revised to improve coordination and communication during extreme weather events, says Valencia Plaza. Meanwhile, 85% of industries in the “zona cero” are back in business, but rebuilding remains slow, and the €12 million in donations have only recently begun reaching affected families, reports El País.

Amnesty International warns, however, that overbuilding in flood-prone areas continues to put thousands of Valencians at risk, notes Valencia Extra.

For a deeper look at the disaster and its human toll, Slow Journalism has published an in-depth retrospective from Valencia: More Reading in English: “The Sky Fell on Us Valencians”.

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Crime and Policing

Police are investigating the murder of the ex-husband of Almassora’s mayor, after a garbage collector discovered his body in a dumpster near the Castellón town square last week, reports El País.

Police also arrested three people accused of printing counterfeit money at home — using surprisingly professional equipment, according to Las Provincias

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Changing City

Tensions between locals and visiting tourists flared after a viral altercation in the city center, sparking talk of “tourism fatigue,” reported Las Provincias. City officials questeioned by Levante-EMV, however, denied there’s any organized movement of “turismofobia.”

Las Provincias features a thoughtful piece on how some Valencian neighborhoods are creating “spaces of community resistance” — grassroots alternatives to the Airbnb economy.

For an X-ray of Valencia’s transformation, this feature offers a revealing look at how each district is evolving — from the residential boom in Quatre Carreres to the commercial surge in Ciutat Vella.
More Reading in Spanish: Valencia Plaza

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Culture and Community

Next year’s Fallas are already shaping up to be the most expensive in history, with commissions planning record-breaking displays, according to Las Provincias.

Meanwhile, farmers in La Ribera are gradually switching from persimmons to avocados — a sign of how the region’s agriculture is adapting to new markets and changing climates, reports Valencia Plaza.