The Government of Spain stresses the total and absolute commitment of the Armed Forces to Valencia

Moncloa Palace, Madrid

The President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, chairs the meeting of the crisis committee to monitor the effects of the DANA (Pool Moncloa/Borja Puig de la Bellacasa)

A press conference was held at the Ministry of Defence at the close of the conference, to take stock of the work carried out by the Armed Forces in the areas affected by the disaster. In the meeting with the media, the Minister for Defence, Margarita Robles, reiterated "the total and absolute commitment of the Armed Forces to Valencia, to its citizens, to everyone".

In the same vein, Margarita Robles pointed to the great work being carried out by the army in the affected areas, "such that the volunteers helping in the area join the military because they know that this means their work will produce positive results, thanks to the excellent coordination and technical capabilities". Margarita Robles pointed out that the Armed Forces are still working on cleaning up the streets, and now also on the adaptation of industrial estates and agricultural areas to reinstate economic activity. Robles appeared together with the Lieutenant General in charge of the Military Emergency Unit (UME), Javier Marcos, who explained that on the afternoon of 29 October, when making progress was proving to be virtually impossible, the UME managed to reach ground zero. Lieutenant General Marcos showed images from two hours after the activation in which the second reserve of the UME can be seen advancing to Utiel and rescuing citizens as it does so.

Since the cold drop that devastated the Valencian community two weeks ago, the Armed Forces have carried out 1,783 missions, starting on the very afternoon of 29 October, "when barely two hours after the UME was activated for the Utiel-Requena area, there were already troops deployed and carrying out rescue work on the roads", said Lieutenant General Marcos, who showed images of those moments, thanking the soldiers who "put their lives on the line, rescued people trapped in vehicles, and acted impeccably".

"Of the first 96 troops deployed, 56 arrived in Utiel. Given the magnitude of the flood, the rest are coordinated with 112 to be able to travel to Paiporta to assist where necessary, given the new warnings issued in that area".

The head of the EMU insisted that "the work of the Armed Forces has been exemplary from the first moment, just as there can be no doubt that we will be there for as long as necessary. As we speak, more than 8,500 soldiers, more than 2,000 machines, 12 helicopters... All our capabilities are at the service of Valencia. The bulk of the efforts have so far focused on cleaning streets and sewers, and now it is also on mobility infrastructures and industrial and agricultural areas to restart economic activity".

Non official translation