With asthma and without an elevator, the helplessness of those affected by the DANA two years later

Valencia"We feel total helplessness and defenselessness. We don't know what to do or who to turn to. We have been without an elevator for two years, and my son and I suffer from asthma, and my partner has a torn knee cruciate ligament." The second anniversary of the DANA in the Valencian Country arrives when some scars of the catastrophe remain completely present and many people suffer the consequences every day. This is the case of Nuria Carmona's family, a resident of the Valencian town of Picanya who, despite suffering from a chronic respiratory disease, has to climb the stairs five floors that separate the garage from her home. It is also the case for José Cerdán, a resident of Catarroja who has still not been able to recover his house. In fact, due to a dispute between neighbors, he hasn't even been able to start the works.

The ordeal for Nuria and her neighbors began when the company they commissioned for the elevator repair, Ascensores Aitana, to which they had advanced part of the intervention cost in June 2025, was absorbed by another company, Ascensores Pertor. Then, and always according to Carmona's account, a few months of silence began that were only broken when the new company communicated that they considered the budget they had agreed upon with the first one was too cheap and that they would not take charge of it. Apparently, the dispute was resolved when the community reported the situation, and in July and August the company sent a worker to start the work. Unfortunately, it was a mirage. "Since then, we haven't heard anything else," laments Carmona, who denounces the defenselessness they are suffering. "I have asthma, my six-year-old son does too, and my partner is going to have knee surgery. We have even called to explain our situation, to know when they will repair the elevator and assess if it is better to delay the surgery, but even so," emphasizes the Picanya resident, who states that they know of other buildings in the town in the same situation. To verify the account of the Picanya resident, the ARA has contacted the company without having received a response yet.

While awaiting the company's assessments, the one that has spoken out regarding the delay in elevator repairs is the Association of Elevator Companies of the Valencian Community (Ascencoval), which has estimated that 245 elevators damaged by the DANA are still pending repair or replacement. The employers' association has highlighted the work done so far and emphasized that up to 7,530 elevators were left inoperative in the catastrophe. Furthermore, it has attributed the delays to a lack of manpower and custom-made materials.

End of neighborhood solidarity

Also "desperate" and "tired of waiting" is José Cerdán, who lived with his partner and a child in a home located 100 meters from the Poio ravine. The water damaged the foundations of his house and that of four other families, a circumstance that made the demolition of the properties necessary –in the entire affected area 73 houses were completely demolished and 312 partially–, an expense that the Catarroja City Council assumed. Since then they have resided in rented housing and at his mother-in-law's house. A year ago,in conversation with ARA, he explained that thanks to the insurance compensation, he already had 90% of the budget to rebuild the property, a project that had not yet started, but which he trusted would begin soon and be finished in 2028. Sadly, twelve months later, that plan is still a dead letter. Cerdán cannot rebuild his house because the properties were part of a community of 40 homes that shared a facade, party walls, floor slabs, and an interior courtyard, and some neighbors refuse to share the costs for these spaces. Given the discrepancies, the majority has decided to wait for the justice system to resolve it. "Not everyone refuses to pay, but there are five who oppose it and the rest are silent and keep their heads down," laments the Catarroja resident. And he concludes: "That union and solidarity that was born after the catastrophe is broken. Now what springs forth is selfishness and the lack of empathy".