{"id":11553,"date":"2024-12-24T07:15:00","date_gmt":"2024-12-24T06:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sondainternacional.com\/?post_type=project&p=11553"},"modified":"2024-12-24T00:46:47","modified_gmt":"2024-12-23T23:46:47","slug":"no-one-arrived-in-time","status":"publish","type":"project","link":"https:\/\/sondainternacional.com\/en\/proyectos\/no-one-arrived-in-time\/","title":{"rendered":"No one arrived in time"},"content":{"rendered":"
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I didn\u2019t know how to anticipate it. <\/em>On the afternoon of October 29, 2024, I was in my village, an hour\u2019s drive south of Valencia, preparing to spend several hours editing images for a project related to water: photographs of torrential rains, floods, droughts, and pollution in various parts of the world.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n

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I glanced at the weather forecast issued by Spain’s meteorological bureau, which had issued a red alert for heavy rains in the Community of Valencia, to understand what might happen and where. Even though it warned of possible floods, I thought it would be no different from other similar heavy rain events, and I had a lot of work pending. After checking the forecast, I completely disconnected. I spent the afternoon and much of the night editing water-related images while, unbeknownst to me, the worst floods of the century in Spain were unfolding not far from my home. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n

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The Poyo ravine, which channeled the flood on October 29, passing through Paiporta.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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The next day, I left the house without watching the news or checking social media. A few minutes later, a colleague sent me a video of the flood that had devastated Valencia. I couldn\u2019t believe it.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n

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That morning, images of the DANA\u2019s impact in various towns south of Valencia circulated everywhere. I was paralyzed: the magnitude of the tragedy was immense. My frustration at not being there to document what was happening (while locked in a room editing images from thousands of kilometers away) led me to initially dismiss going to record the aftermath. It had already happened; I was too late, I thought.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n

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I also didn\u2019t have a car at that time, making it hard to get to Valencia, so I tried to accept my mistake and focus on the work I had for that day. Mid-morning, the Sonda Internacional team had an online meeting to manage ongoing projects: visual journalism on human ecology and the climate crisis. Naturally, we ended up dedicating the meeting to discussing what had happened in Valencia.  <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n

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A man walks through mud flooding the center of Paiporta, October 31, 2024.\u00a0<\/span>
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On October 31, I got my car back but didn\u2019t rush to the affected areas. I spent several hours working on the computer first. I was genuinely stuck. I had never before failed to mobilise in such a situation.
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Finally, I headed to Valencia at midday, almost two days after the disaster occurred. I felt so late that I only aspired to take a look and speak with the residents of the affected towns. I wasn\u2019t even sure if I would photograph anything.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n

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The AP-7, the highway along Spain\u2019s Mediterranean coast, was almost empty. The number of cars decreased even more as I approached Valencia. That road reflected the atmosphere of an emergency situation.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n

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By the time I reached the town of Sueca, the highway was deserted. Looking toward the sea, in the direction of Valencia\u2019s Albufera, all I could see was water.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n

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What had happened? Why was this time different? Which areas were most affected? How many people had died? What was happening now? These questions swirled in my mind as I drove to Paiporta, one of the hardest-hit towns.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n

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After walking through the mud-flooded streets in the town center and meeting some of its residents, I decided to focus my work there.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n

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These are fragments of what I saw in Paiporta in the weeks following the flood that devastated southern Valencia on October 29, 2024.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n

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A car displaced by the flood in the town of Paiporta, 31 October 2024.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n