DANA: The Adventist Church continues to help in Valencia, despite the warning of heavy rains

Sixth day after the tragedy and the devastation continues. The number of fatalities in communities of Valencia, Castilla-La Mancha, and Andalusia now totals 215 fatalities and numerous missing. Dozens of Adventist volunteers from the Valencia area are collaborating in the tasks of cleaning and managing water, food, and basic resources. In addition, this week, it is expected that volunteers from our churches from other places in Spain will be able to join, always in an organized way, through the Adventist NGO, ADRA.
JAE (Adventist Youth of Spain) has cancelled sporting events to support ADRA in the management of humanitarian aid. In addition, Adventist health workers are participating as volunteers and ADRA has established a team of online psychologists to provide emotional support. The president of the Spanish Union emphasizes the importance of coordinating with ADRA before sending more volunteers. All this, despite the warnings of heavy rains.
Current situation
The rains of the DANA continue to seriously affect Valencia and other areas of southeastern Spain. Almería woke up on Sunday with a red warning for rainfall of up to 60 liters per hour, while Valencia and Murcia maintain orange warnings for the risk of strong storms. The municipality has limited access to the most affected areas, and there is a risk of new rains in the affected areas. However, thousands of volunteers have decided to ignore the order and have gone to the area, on foot, to help. During these days, more than 100,000 volunteers have collaborated, in Valencia, with the towns affected by the DANA.
The Civil Guard has reinforced its presence with more than 5,000 troops and the central Government will join the rapid response groups. In addition, the Insurance Consortium has received more than 35,000 claims related to the damages.
Last Sunday, the King and Queen, and President Pedro Sánchez visited the region to coordinate actions and show support to the victims. Sánchez announced 10,000 troops in Valencia for the DANA and could send more "if necessary".
Orange alert on the coast of the community of Valencia. Almería on red alert.
The State Meteorological Agency (Aemet) has established the orange level warning for this Sunday on the coast of the province of Valencia, and for the northern coast and interior of Castellón, due to rainfall that could accumulate 100 liters per square meter in twelve hours. Almería also has a red alert in some territories due to rainfall, which is why Civil Protection has sent an alert to the mobile phones of the affected regions.
Roads cut off, volunteers who defy restrictions to continue helping and the sending of 5,000 additional troops
The outlook is bleak: a dozen roads in Valencia and Castellón remain closed, and pedestrian access has been restricted for twelve municipalities due to the orange warning for heavy rain. Despite the bans, thousands of volunteers have defied the restrictions to help with the clean-up efforts, crossing the bridges that separate the city of Valencia from the municipalities of the Horta Sud region, where the situation is critical.
The authorities have deployed a contingent of 3,633 soldiers to assist in the rescue and clean-up tasks, and the President of Spain has announced the dispatch of 5,000 additional troops following the request of the autonomous community, highlighting the seriousness of the situation.
A new DANA is expected next week
Experts from the State Meteorological Agency (Aemet) warn of a possible new DANA next week, although they assure that it will not be as intense as the current one.
Robberies in affected areas
The tragedy has not only brought flooding and destruction; police have reported 20 arrests for robberies in affected areas.
Authorities continue to work to restore normality while the country remains under the threat of unpredictable weather.
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