Valencia DANA flood recovery and commemoration

Two years after the DANA weather emergency in Valencia, recovery efforts continue through cultural preservation and community resilience, alongside lingering infrastructure issues.

The ‘Memorias y Patrimonios Personales’ project, led by the Association of Conservators and Restaurators of Spain (ACRE), received the 2026 National Prize for Restoration and Conservation of Cultural Property. The initiative has intervened in 235 items across 17 municipalities to recover assets such as ceramics, textiles, and historical documents damaged during the 2024 floods.

As the second anniversary of the disaster approaches, local communities and victims' associations are organizing various memorial acts. These include the ‘Memòria, unitat i futur’ ceremony at Alaquàs castle, marches in Hoya de Buñol, Albal, and Benetússer, and demonstrations organized by social collectives in Valencia. The tragedy, which occurred on October 29, 2024, resulted in 233 deaths and significantly impacted five regions.

Technological efforts to preserve personal history have also expanded. The ‘Salvem les Fotos UPV / Recuperar les memòries’ project, led by the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV), has utilized artificial intelligence and scientific methods to restore damaged family photographs. The initiative has successfully recovered 340,000 images, involving specialists from the UPV Faculty of Fine Arts and the Institute of Heritage Restoration to ensure the long-term preservation of these photographic legacies.

At the community level, local traditions have emerged as symbols of solidarity, such as the creation of the ‘Coca del Poble’ dessert in Paiporta to support affected bakeries. However, practical recovery remains difficult in some areas; for instance, residents in Catarroja continue to struggle with non-functional building elevators due to ongoing disputes regarding insurance assessments and repair budgets.