Pilar Bernabé blames delayed alerts for Valencia flood deaths

Government delegate Pilar Bernabé testified before the Congress committee investigating the severe flooding that struck Valencia on 29 October 2024. She criticised the Valencian regional government's slow response and lack of information, noting that more than 11 000 calls from municipalities and 19 000 emergency calls were not acted upon promptly. Bernabé said she learned of the call volume almost a month later through the media and that an audio recording had been manipulated to hide the need to monitor ravines.

She described the coordination between administrations as “asymmetric,” recalling that the Emergency Military Unit was offered assistance at 12 p.m. but that the first ES Alert was only sent to the Forata area, not the whole province. Bernabé argued that earlier activation of the alert could have saved lives, stating, “Todo se hizo mal porque todo se hizo tarde.”