‘Warnings came after it had been raining for two or three hours’published at 07:47 Greenwich Mean Time
‘Thousands’ of residents in the north of Valencia have begun to head south, according to a local journalist
As
residents in the east of Spain slowly begin to take in the damage to their
communities, some have described their shock at what they have found.
Speaking to the BBC Radio 4s Today
programme, journalist Paco Polit explains how he encountered “utter
devastation” when he headed into a local town in Valencia.
The journalist says that “thousands”
of people in the northern side of the city are making their way south, but are
struggling with the roads blocked by rubble and mud.
Polit is also critical of
authorities, and suggests that warnings “came very late”.
He says “action didn’t ensue”
after reports suggested that rain was going to be “devastating” last
Tuesday.
“When the alert was set off
on our mobile phones it was already half-past 8pm on Tuesday, when it had been
raining for two or three hours and it was already too late.”