Rubén López is one of the six EMERLAN workers who have traveled to Valencia to collaborate in the cleaning and pumping tasks due to the damage caused by the DANA that hit the Mediterranean area a week ago.
"When we saw what had happened, we made ourselves available to the Security and Emergency Consortium and the Government of the Canary Islands, but on our own decision we decided to set up in Valencia and offer our support to the authorities. Immediately they located us in a sector and some managers and we haven't stopped since then," says López.
Thanks to the fact that the team is multidisciplinary, it is prepared for aquatic rescues, at height and also in traffic and fire aspects. "We cannot move even with our vehicles that are all-terrain because there is a lot of mud and the streets are blocked. It looks like a war," he declares.
"We have to go with the lights and sirens on constantly because when you least expect it, a heavy machine comes out and there are many volunteers on the street, so it is very complex to move," explains the worker.
The area to which they have been assigned is Silla, very close to the Albufera. "They have assigned us to sector 4 and it is impressive because you can see a street that has barely suffered damage and in the next you find the cars piled up three by three," he says.
Services of up to ten hours
The enormous amount of mud, cars, furniture and garbage that the floods dragged causes that, wherever they look, the EMERLAN volunteers find a large number of services to attend to that involve many hours of work.
"This morning we left an intervention in which we were the first to arrive, seven days later, so that some people could access their home because they had a vehicle inside the garage standing touching the ceiling and we had to make a maneuver to get the car out and check that the structure of the house was not damaged so that the owners could collect their belongings," reveals López.
"We have also been pumping water from another building where people with reduced mobility live and the elevators are blocked because they have been filled with water," he says.
"This Monday we were until three in the morning in an underground parking lot of two floors where we pumped the water and we were verifying that there were no people inside the vehicles and ruling out that in the areas in which we are acting there are no people. To record that there are no people in the cars, the windshield wipers are raised," he explains.
The workers have encountered difficulties in terms of the type of constructions, since they are different from those of Lanzarote. "There are buildings of eight portals and 20 floors and suddenly you find three basements with doors everywhere, which makes us take a long time when making the interventions because yesterday we started one at six in the afternoon and finished at four in the morning and we couldn't anymore, we have barely slept three hours," he says.
"To be able to stay somewhere we contacted a vacation home and the owner when she asked us where we came from directly burst into tears and told us that she was not going to charge us. In fact, she had been trapped in her home for four days and we made a purchase for her and took it to her because she also has young children," he declares.
According to the EMERLAN member, "here you approach a portal and all the neighbors come down offering you coffee and asking you if you have eaten and thanking you, it gives you goosebumps."
Due to the stagnant water and the organic waste in it, since this Monday the protection suits (PPE) are necessary. "We must protect ourselves with gloves and masks, we disinfect ourselves with hydroalcoholic gel, etc., and when we arrive at the apartment we undress at the entrance. These are protocols that must be followed because there are streets where the accumulation, even of gases, is dangerous," he explains.
The six workers will continue to offer help and support to the Valencians without having in mind the idea of returning to Lanzarote yet. "We came without a return date and our vehicles have been here since minute one," he says. "The people of Valencia are surprised when they see that we are from Lanzarote and our idea is to be here until the situation improves somewhat because when you arrive here, the services accumulate and if we have to make a relay we will do it because we are going to help in whatever is needed," he concludes.