ES-Alert or is it 'alert'?

Last Tuesday afternoon, in Baix Penedès, as in other regions, we received two ES-Alert warnings advising that torrential rain was expected on Wednesday. But the warning did not come alone: it also arrived with restrictions. Educational and university activities, outdoor sports activities, and some services were suspended; it was recommended to avoid travel and to apply teleworking whenever possible.

Faced with this almost apocalyptic scenario, many of us cancelled visits, postponed commitments, and modified agendas. And in the end, at least in Baix Penedès, practically nothing. It rained, yes, but nothing we had not seen other times.

The contradiction is clear: a lot of alert this time, but on August 22nd and 24th, when the storms were strong and even two people died, the ES-Alert was not activated.

Is it necessary to paralyse part of a territory given the possibility of heavy rain? Prudence, fear, or playing it safe? It is evident that the Valencia DANA marked a before and after, but if alerts are overused, we run the risk that citizens will stop taking them seriously. Preventing is necessary, but it is also necessary to calibrate each warning well so that an alert does not lose its strength.

In the end, perhaps we will have to go back to looking at the sky. That, at least, always ends up giving us the answer.