The mayor of Guadalajara, Ana Guarinos, along with the councilor of Security, Chema Antón, have today conducted a review of the actions taken during the emergency situation that affected the city and its citizens for a month, from March 8th to April 8th, due to the increase in the flow of the Henares River, caused by intense rains and reservoir discharges. In her statements, the mayor wanted to express her gratitude for the behavior, collaboration, understanding, and support of the citizens, as well as for the excellent work done by the professionals of the City Council.
Acknowledgments
Ana Guarinos highlighted the work of the Emergency Services, Local Police, Firefighters, and Civil Protection, mentioning Víctor Castellano, chief of Local Police; Ignacio Jimeno, chief firefighter; and David de Diego, head of Civil Protection. She also recognized the effort of the Infrastructure and Urbanism staff, including Enrique Jiménez, head of Infrastructure Area; Blanca Causapie, head of Urbanism Area; and engineers Alfonso Santos and Juan Aguado.
The mayor also thanked the company Guadalagua and the members of the Government Team, including Javier Toquero, deputy mayor and head of Heritage; Alfonso Esteban, deputy mayor, Coordinator of Security Area and head of Urbanism; Santiago López Pomeda, third deputy mayor and coordinator of Infrastructure Area; José Luis Alguacil, councilor of Environment; and Chema Antón, head of Security and Emergencies. She also mentioned the heads of Cabinet and press and the head of Citizen Security Area, Gemma del Sol Lozano.
«All of them have been 24 hours a day attentive to any incident or problem to solve it as soon as possible and ensuring that the emergency situation affected the people of Guadalajara as little as possible, and if it did, to resolve it promptly,» emphasized the mayor, pointing out that during this month «there has been communication at all times with the rest of the administrations involved.»
Actions during the emergency
«From the very beginning, the municipal emergency operation, both PLATEMUN and CECOPAL, were activated. On March 8th, at 6:20 pm, a message was received from 112 informing of the activation of PRICAM in Alert phase due to unfavorable weather forecasts. The next day, at 8:15 pm, PRICAM was activated in Emergency Phase for the provinces of Guadalajara and Toledo,» the mayor recalled.
During this period, a total of 9 communications were issued to inform the population about the measures taken and the alert and emergency situation. The most challenging days were March 9th and March 22nd when the Henares River reached its maximum level. The riverbank was delimited and protected from the very beginning to prevent access by the population.
Preventive measures and surveillance
«The Local Police, Civil Protection, and Firefighters were operational 24 hours a day, monitoring, pumping water, and patrolling the Henares River bank and its surroundings to analyze any risks. Parks, gardens, and the municipal zoo were closed, and the sports fields adjacent to Pedro Escartín were kept unused,» highlighted the mayor, recalling that, in addition, the northern area of the river was monitored in case of water overflow.
«Guadalagua installed buoys in several streets of the Chopera neighborhood to prevent water from reaching the houses by redirecting it through the drains. There was also constant contact with companies in case heavy machinery was needed and with the population to analyze possible high-risk areas,» added the mayor, «always in contact with the population, analyzing possible areas where the risk was higher and in constant contact with the neighbors of the area and the most affected houses, as well as with the Isidro Almazán school, close to the river but which did not have any issues with the affected companies in the El Balconcillo industrial estate.»
Subsequent actions
Regarding actions after the emergency, Guarinos explained that the zoo overlook remains closed and access to the terraces has been limited due to possible landslides. «A geological study will be carried out to assess how the excess flow may have affected and for the same reasons we have requested a review of the state of the Arab bridge,» she emphasized.
At this point, Guarinos thanked José María Bris for the La Mota work on the Henares riverbank, built in 2003 following the Henares flood in 1997. «Since its construction, there had never been a Henares River flood like the one that occurred during the month of March, and the role of this dam or talus has been fundamental for the protection of people and houses closest to the riverbank,» she stated.
As for upcoming actions, Guarinos announced the formalization of contracts for reinforcement and improvement works of the rainwater network in several streets of La Chopera and the improvement of the rainwater network on Jaraba and Buenafuente streets, in Manantiales, with an investment close to 200,000 euros.
Other specific municipal emergency plans are being finalized
The Security councilor, Chema Antón, reiterated his gratitude to all of CECOPAL, highlighting the work of emergency services such as the Local Police and Civil Protection, which have been operational 24 hours a day for almost the entire month. He also praised the exemplary performance of Guadalagua, «especially on the night of March 12th when they faced a problem with the water table level. At that time, the entire procedure was activated and buoys were installed to control the situation, with the collaboration of firefighters and Civil Protection, as well as Red Cross.»
Antón emphasized four fundamental aspects: «the anticipation of the municipal government team, even before the emergency level was declared; the responsibility in managing the emergency, the coordination between the different services, and the information to the citizens.»
He highlighted how the area was cordoned off and surveillance was established 24 hours even before the emergency level was declared. Additionally, he mentioned the importance of constant communication with the residents, ensuring they felt calm and attended to at all times.
Finally, Antón pointed out that the Guadalajara City Council, after the approval of PLATEMUN last November, is already developing other specific emergency plans, such as the radiological plan, the plan for the transport of dangerous goods, forest fire, and flood plans.
«In six months, we will be able to activate all mandatory emergency plans, which have been mandatory since 2018, when others did not do so,» emphasized the councilor, highlighting the importance of these plans to anticipate possible emergency situations, and thanked all the officials and colleagues of the Government Team for their dedication and effort.