Everything can change at once

In 2023, the Generalitat ran a campaign titled Water doesn't fall from the sky to remind us of the importance of saving water in the midst of a drought. Three years later, the government for everyone has launched Everything can change in an instant, a new Civil Protection campaign to warn us about the dangers of torrential rains. The advertisement, which you must have seen during various commercial breaks on TV3, reflects this idea of risk in seemingly safe areas very well. It is noted that artificial intelligence has been used to recreate some scenes, which alternate with real footage to reflect the contrast between the before and after of the great deluge. A bucolic stream of water in a village that turns into violent waterfalls, a parking lot by the sea that disappears under the fury of the waves, a parked car of which only the roof is visible later, a street that becomes a vigorous river impossible to cross, and a bridge at the end of a creek that becomes obstructed by a pile of wrecked cars. Images that, unfortunately, we have seen too many times in recent years without the need for AI. The sound is used aptly to enhance the sudden contrast between calm and catastrophe. The desire to raise public awareness makes sense. From a creative point of view, the advertisement is striking. It is well thought out so that viewers learn to distrust supposedly safe, habitual landscapes. The advertisement, however, appeals to fear. The aftertaste left by these campaigns is one of doubt as to whether, deep down, they are a transfer of responsibility. A way to cover one's back so it cannot be said that the population has not already been institutionally warned of any fatality that may arrive. “They” have already warned us. The line between public and individual responsibility remains blurred. They imply that we should protect ourselves, which is nothing more than an obvious point. Perhaps it is necessary to explain where the government's responsibility lies in the meantime: what happens with flood-prone areas, the maintenance of infrastructure, the control of streams, the alert system...It is difficult to verify the effectiveness of these types of massive campaigns when it comes to modifying behaviors, especially when they prioritize this emotional burden. Will the advertisement help to differentiate a simple rain from a real alert? Will the campaign prevent catastrophes? Will the population act in a more appropriate way in the face of future downpours? The threat has become clear to us, but not the answer to it all. Nor where the responsibility of each one lies: that of the citizens and that of the government. We will be clear that everything can change suddenly, but not what needs to be done.Ironically, the campaign has coincided with the controversy over the failure to send the ES-Alert during the heavy downpours in the Camp de Tarragona at the end of August. Minister Ramon Espadaler justified it by saying that “meteorology is not an exact science”. Perhaps they will be able to use that phrase as a slogan in the next campaign.