Audio: This is how the ES-Alert arrived on the day of the DANA storm

Valencia"The dispatch? Approved." With this simple question, the delayed dispatch of the ES-Alert was resolved at the Cecopio (Emergency Coordination Center) on the day the DANA storm claimed 229 lives in the Valencian Community just over a year ago. ARA has obtained access to the telephone conversation between Miguel, an Emergency Services technician, and the department's deputy director general, Jorge Suárez, which was the final step in disseminating the alert.

"The first one is in both languages, I'll reject this one, okay?" the Emergency technician asks Suárez. He's referring to a message called "707" [a nomenclature originating from a list of possible alerts] written in Spanish and English. The message that was sent, "708," warned citizens to avoid traveling. "Should I approve it?" the worker asks the senior official, who gives him the go-ahead. According to the recording, the alert text was directed at "the entire province of Valencia" due to "heavy rains."

During the conversation, which lasts just over two minutes, the two experience some connection problems and have difficulty understanding each other. In fact, Miguel warns Suárez that he's not feeling well, a situation exacerbated by the accumulated stress of the entire afternoon. Unfortunately, the warning issued at 8:11 p.m. contained erroneous information. It asked people to avoid travel, but not to stay home and in higher areas, as a second message at 8:57 p.m. did. This has been highlighted in several rulings by the investigating judge, Nuria Ruiz Tobarra, who has stated that the former councilor, Salomé Pradas, is responsible for "gross negligence" due to "the slowness in adopting the measures and their erroneous nature." The magistrate of the Catarroja court emphasizes "the convening of the Cecopio (Emergency Coordination Center) with a clear delay," the lack of "monitoring of the ravines," and the "unbearable delay in alerting the public."