The mayor of Els Poblets, José Luis Mas, made his request to the Prime Minister at a meeting held on Tuesday in Oliva, which was also attended by the president of the Generalitat, Juanfran Pérez Llorca, representatives from supramunicipal administrations and other mayors of towns affected by the storm. According to Mas himself, he was the only mayor from the Girona river basin who attended the meeting.
The mayor recalled that the municipality had already suffered serious flooding in 2007 and described the speed with which water covered the town centre this time: "It happened in a flash. In 20 or 25 minutes, the whole town was completely flooded".
Mas called on the River Basin Authority to carry out hydraulic infrastructure works that, according to him, have been pending for years, such as the modification of bridges, the removal of reeds and the construction of lamination ponds. On the distribution of resources between areas affected by different weather episodes, he stated: "I understood that all resources would go to the area affected by the DANA (of October 2024), but now we are also an affected area and they have to take the necessary measures".
The mayor also asked to be able to use the municipality's treasury reserves, which he put at seven million euros, to deal with damage and investments resulting from the flooding: "It makes no sense that a town like Els Poblets has seven million euros in the bank and we are tied hand and foot when it comes to making investments". Mas also welcomed positively the announcement by the head of the Executive to declare the territory affected by the storm a disaster area.
On a local level, the Town Hall is opening an advisory office on Wednesday to help residents process their claims with the Insurance Compensation Consortium, as this newspaper previously reported on the channels of support made available to those affected. The municipality's administrative and technical services are dealing with needs ranging from food and accommodation to damage to homes, whilst clean-up work continues on mud and debris after clearing the main roads, for which high-pressure washing equipment has been requested. The council is also working to reopen the school on Wednesday, after the flooding disrupted the opening of the new Ausiàs March primary school, originally scheduled for Monday 19 October.
On Tuesday afternoon, Mas toured the affected streets alongside the Compromís representative in parliament, Joan Baldoví; the Member of Congress, Àgueda Micó; and the regional deputy for Marina Alta, Gerard Fullana. The mayor thanked the solidarity shown by residents and volunteers who arrived from Marina Alta and other parts of the Valencian Community, as well as police officers, firefighters and emergency teams: "It has been a river of solidarity and the truth is it has been very moving".
