A Day That Will Last for Years

On 29th October 2024 it starts raining in Andalucia. Torrential rainfalls cause catastrophic floods. The devastation is very visible one month later in the towns ravaged by the ‘Dana’. It will take years and a lot of investment to recover the landscape and the economy. And the collective trauma will last for decades. The catastrophe exceeded all forecasts but it is increasingly clear that the warnings were ignored. This reportage was prepared by three ‘30 Minutes’ teams. The first collected testimonies still shaken by the first hours. The second, ten days later, witnessed a recovery that is progressing too slowly, despite the help of volunteers. And the third sought answers to the questions raised by the catastrophe. As factors that caused or exacerbated the disaster, meteorologists, geographers, and architects provide various keys. Apart from noting that climate change is changing all the patterns, the fierce urbanisation of the municipalities of l’Horta Sur on flood-prone land has only reinforced the effects of an exceptional episode. The municipal architect of the town of Massanassa is clear: ‘In 2008 we were in the madness of construction, it was everything, we were building anywhere in an incredible way. We urbanised things that were totally absurd.’