By José Bautista and Amelia Nierenberg
On Tuesday, certain families in Spain were making funeral arrangements, days after their loved ones’ bodies were discovered in the wake of floods that resulted in at least 215 fatalities. Others were still in suspense, caught between sorrow and the hope that a missing family member might still be alive somewhere in the debris.
One full week after the disastrous rains, the government has yet to release an official count of the missing, even though it approved a significant relief package of 10.6 billion euros ($11.6 billion) on Tuesday.
“We aim to be very careful,” stated Óscar Puente, the Spanish transportation minister, during a radio discussion on Monday.
The relief package comprises payments of approximately $66,000 for those whose properties were affected and further assistance for individuals with severe injuries.
“There are still individuals unaccounted for, along with numerous businesses and families impacted,” Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez remarked on Tuesday. “That is why we must keep pushing forward.”
However, numerous families are not relying on government assistance as they search for their missing loved ones.
Social media has become a platform for sharing images of the missing. One crowdsourced map detailing the vicinity of Valencia, the area most severely impacted in eastern Spain, records their last-known whereabouts. Another source compiles real-time needs of the residents.
“We needed to act swiftly, because people were lacking essential supplies,” said Jorge Sáiz, 32, who collaborated with his wife, Sandra Navarro, 31, to create the aid map.
Last week, a social media account began to circulate photos and information regarding missing individuals. This account is known as “DANA Desaparecidos,” which can be interpreted as “Missing From the Storm.”
In one of around 100 posts, a man with a chubby face grins, his eyes crinkling above his stubbly cheeks.
His name is Luciano Bravo Morales.
Bravo, 58, was in Catarroja, a town close to Valencia, when the floodwaters started to rise on the night of Oct. 29, according to Alexia Romero, his niece, during a phone conversation.
He contacted his family and climbed atop a car, she mentioned. Then, he seized the awning of a bar. “The last thing he uttered was, ‘The water is rising way too high, the water is going to sweep me away,’” recounted Romero, 32.
Her family reached out to a hotline established by local authorities and submitted an official missing person report. They also shared his image across social media.
The disparity in the responses astonished them, she noted. No officials have contacted them, but the individuals managing the social media accounts have communicated to inquire if they require assistance.
“I understand that the streets need cleaning, but — with all due respect — I believe they should focus on searching for missing persons,” Romero stated. “The life of an individual holds greater importance than cleaning the lower levels of a home.”
After days of anticipation for news, her family simply wants to discover what happened to Bravo.
“I’m unsure how much longer we can wait,” she expressed. “It’s been a week; we’re expecting the worst outcome, but the sooner we learn the truth, the better.”
The government intends to release a provisional tally of the missing individuals soon, Nieves Goicoechea, the communications director for the Spanish Interior Ministry, confirmed in a phone interview.
However, the data is complex. Puente indicated that several individuals may have reached out to report the same person, possibly leading to an inflated count.
There could also be a lower count. Reports can only be filed in person, which some may not have had the opportunity to do yet. Many police stations have also suffered damage or destruction.
“The government cannot declare an individual missing over a phone call,” Goicoechea emphasized. “We maintain transparency, but it must be responsible.”
As the government works to organize its response, families are growing increasingly frustrated.
Samuel Ruiz, 28, is still on the lookout for his father, Francisco Ruiz Martínez. He explained that Ruiz Martínez, 64, was driving his nephews near Montserrat, another town close to Valencia, when the vehicle became trapped in the floods.
Ruiz Martínez shattered the window to get the boys — aged 5 and 10 — safely to the roof of the car. However, when he attempted to climb up himself, his son recounted, he lost his footing.
“The water carried him away,” Ruiz recalled in a phone conversation. “He vanished.”
The family also reached out to the hotline to report his disappearance. They submitted an in-person report and provided a DNA sample. They too have yet to receive any official updates. “The response from the authorities has been appalling,” Ruiz stated.
Yet people on social media, he added, have been reposting his father’s photograph to raise awareness. “The most effective response has come from volunteers and all the neighbors in the region,” he mentioned.
As families continue to worry and hope, many are repeating a phrase that has become somewhat of a mantra: “Solo el pueblo salva al pueblo,” or “Only the people save the people.”
