Valencia mayor Catalá challenges regional president Mazón on flood response

On 29 October 2024 a severe flood (dana) struck Valencia, leaving 230 dead. Mayor María José Catalá testified that she received no information about the ES‑Alert warning being prepared, despite the municipal Civil Protection team’s technical coordination with the Generalitat’s emergency centre.

Catalá said she repeatedly contacted regional president Carlos Mazón by phone and WhatsApp during the crisis. Mazón replied at 23:20 with a message, “Va a haber muchos muertos” (there will be many deaths). She explained she had to order evacuations and deploy buses beyond her municipal remit, while Mazón arrived late to the regional coordination meeting (Cecopi) and left shortly after midnight. The mayor highlighted a split between the municipal coordination centre (Cecopal) and the regional one (Cecopi), questioning why she was not directly informed or consulted.

The exchange and the handling of the emergency are now part of the legal investigation into the flood response.