Óscar Ruiz
Migration Expert and International Analyst
Some military strategist used to say that in combat everyone has a good plan until the first shot rings out, and that seems to be what has happened to the government of the nation with this brutal catastrophe, in which many missing people are still being searched for and the number of victims continues to rise. No country is prepared for a tragedy of this magnitude, but it seems that the executive has not known how to take the bull by the horns and is operating on the basis of patches and outbursts.
The Army, one of the most valued organizations in this country, has been ready from minute one, but the desire to help, the preparation, the training and the available material have once again come up against politics, which with these actions, hesitations and partisan interests is multiplying the pain of those affected, and of all Spaniards.
On the other hand, we must be aware of the level of disinformation involved in these tragedies, either with interested hoaxes or political strategies to minimize the true impact of the situation, or maximize it through fake news to weaken the political opponent, so any information about this event should be viewed with critical thinking.
The brutal Isolated Depression at High Levels (DANA), which has caused torrential rains and catastrophic floods unprecedented in Europe so far this century by any other cold drop, with, for now, 211 dead in the region (figure updated by the President of the Government, Pedro Sanchez, in his institutional declaration this Saturday morning, after meeting with the Crisis Committee), with still incalculable missing persons and enormous material damage and which has affected in a particularly tragic way localities such as Paiporta, Torrent, Chiva, Cheste, Alfafar, Benifayó and Alcudia.
Military resources deployed by the DANA
The Military Emergency Unit (UME) is the main component of the Armed Forces destined to act in natural disasters. The request is channeled through the Ministry of the Interior, which evaluates the situation and, if appropriate, coordinates with the Ministry of Defense the activation of the UME. This procedure guarantees a rapid and effective response to emergencies requiring additional resources.
In addition, 250 additional military personnel, mainly from engineering units, have been incorporated to support reconstruction tasks and access to isolated areas. The Air Force has deployed NH90 helicopters for aerial rescue operations.
Initially, 1,200 UME soldiers were sent to the affected areas, to which 500 more soldiers (300 from the Army, 100 from the Air Force and 100 from the Navy) began to be added this Friday, as reported yesterday by Margarita Robles (after brutal social pressures). They are deployed in Utiel, Requena, Ribarroja, Torrent, Paiporta and Algemesí.
However, Pedro Sánchez himself has recognized this Saturday in his institutional statement that the response that is being given “is not enough ” in the face of the magnitude of the natural catastrophe. For this reason, he welcomed the fact that the president of the Generalitat Valenciana, Carlos Mazón, has decided to increase his request for military troops from 500 to 5,000. As announced by Sánchez, the Executive will immediately send these 5,000 new military troops (4,000 will arrive today and the other 1,000 on Sunday early in the morning), as well as another 5,000 national police and civil guards, “doubling the number ” of agents transferred so far to the affected areas.
In addition, he has ordered the deployment of an amphibious ship of the Navy, with operating rooms and a fleet of support vehicles that will arrive at the port of Valencia in the coming hours.
“We are talking about the largest deployment of troops of the State security forces and bodies of the Armed Forces that has ever been made in our country in times of peace”, emphasized the President of the Government.
But so far the lack of control is absolute. For example, the 100 elements of the Navy in the area are Marines who were conducting maneuvers in Chinchilla and have been sent to the affected area with nothing, lacking any material to help. Meanwhile in the same area are:
- Transmissions Command (Valencia).
- Information Operations Regiment (Valencia).
- Cavalry Regiment Lusitania 8 (Marines-Valencia).
- Parachute Infantry Regiment Zaragoza 5 (Alcantarilla Murcia).
- Military Police Battalion (Betera Valencia).
- Logistics Brigade (Zaragoza).
- IGE (Barcelona).
- Aragon I Brigade (Zaragoza).
- King Alfonso XIII II La Legion Brigade (Almeria).
- Airmobile Forces of the Spanish Army.
- Special Operations Command of the Army.
- Tercio de Levante de Infantería de Marina (Cartagena).
- FUGNE Armada (Cartagena)… and some others that do not come to mind now and that could have been deployed with important material from almost the first minute.
In addition, the Royal House has sent to Valencia 42 agents of the King’s Security Service in addition to the 100 troops sent last Thursday. And Margarita Robles also confirmed yesterday that there will be military personnel helping in each and every one of the affected towns.
As Sanchez admitted today, “the aid is taking time to reach many points and there
DANA: Why hasn’t the Government raised the emergency level to level 3?
This is where much of the criticism of the government lies is that in the framework of Civil Protection in Spain, emergency levels are defined as:
– Level 2 emergency is of “autonomous interest,” which means that the management of the emergency falls to the autonomous community. At this level it is considered that the disaster or event can be controlled with autonomous community resources, although, when necessary, support from state resources, such as the Military Emergency Unit (UME) and other Armed Forces bodies, may be requested.
This level allows regional authorities to maintain direct control of the situation, avoiding centralization and possible complications derived from intergovernmental coordination.
– Level 3 or “national interest” emergencies are declared when the magnitude of the disaster is such that the response capacity of the autonomous regions is exceeded and it is necessary for the central government to assume direct management. In this case, the Spanish Government, through the Ministry of the Interior, would take control of the operations and become the main command and coordination authority. This is precisely what should have happened with this DANA from day one, when the immensity of the tragedy became apparent, but this fact still has not happened, reminding us of the first months of the Covid pandemic.
Moving from Level 2 to Level 3 implies the mobilization of resources at the state level and the possible additional deployment of the UME and other units of the Armed Forces; unified coordination under the central government, which allows for a broader and more structured response, especially in disasters of national or international impact; and the possibility of activating international assistance, either through the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism or other international agreements, to cover resource needs that exceed national capacity.
The implications for the government of upgrading to Level 3
Moving from a level 2 emergency to level 3 has several technical implications for the government, such as the centralization of the response, as management becomes the responsibility of the central government, which means that the regional authorities lose direct operational control. Likewise, the elevation of an emergency to level 3 implies reorganizing resources and the command structure, which can generate greater bureaucratization in the response process; this centralization can also slow down decision making if adequate coordination is not implemented.
And, of course, there are also the political implications. Raising a disaster to level 3 can be a controversial decision, as it implies recognizing a situation of exceptional gravity that exceeds the regional response capacity. Governments may avoid this declaration in order to maintain the perception of control and avoid the image of excessive dependence on the central government.
Nor can we forget that level 3 also opens the door to emergency funds, international aid and other resources that may imply greater budgetary commitments. In addition, it may require the government to provide explanations of the situation, which may involve public and media pressure.
Although level 3 allows for a broader response, it also centralizes management and could lead to administrative and political tensions between the central and regional governments. This could explain why, at times, authorities prefer to manage the emergency at level 2 whenever possible, maintaining coordination at the autonomous level to preserve management autonomy and reduce the additional bureaucracy associated with the national level.
The seriousness of the situation in the Valencian Community does not seem to have been enough for the Government to decide to raise the emergency to the level of national interest and it is taking too long to use one of the most useful and decisive tools for these cases, the Army.
For the Popular Party, according to an informative note collected this Saturday by Europa Press, the DANA is an “emergency of national interest ‘ and so should have been declared by the Government in ’the evening of Tuesday, October 29”, assuming its share of responsibility in preventive actions and warning the population.
Margarita Robles, for her part, has stated that she does not know if a national emergency should have been declared, while acknowledging that “everyone ” has been overwhelmed by the magnitude of the tragedy. And this Saturday Pedro Sánchez has ruled out taking the step of raising the national emergency to level 3, at least for the moment.
“It is not now a question of the General State Administration replacing the autonomous administration. Now we have to support the autonomous community, help it with resources and technical guidance. That is the only thing that should concern us now”, said the Chief Executive, who has made a clear appeal to Mazón and has asked him that ‘if he needs more resources’ he should request them because ‘we only have to prioritize them’ and ‘we will provide them immediately’.
Despite the technical explanations given by the executive for not increasing the emergency level, the feeling of the population is that they are trying to minimize the shock wave of the tragedy and that not all possible resources are being used, and those that are used, too slowly. In addition, voluntary aid is not being coordinated by the same citizens and the private sector that have offered their support to the Valencian Community either in the form of human capital or in the means necessary to recover people who are trapped and whose survival may depend on the next few hours. All this and more, leads us to an indisputable reality, this is an emergency of national interest, and therefore it should already be raised to level 3, centralizing and deriving all the necessary resources of the nation to the affected areas.
