Overview
- Victoria Rosselló testified that she issued an on‑air red alert on October 29, 2024 and told viewers at 15:20, “The situation is critical. Do not leave your homes.”
- She said models signaled a high‑impact event from Friday and noted that AEMET raised the highest red alert at 07:36 as torrential rains isolated towns and forced the A‑7 closure early that morning.
- Rosselló described unprecedented rainfall in the Utiel‑Requena area between late morning and early afternoon, citing totals near 300 l/m² and AEMET climatologist José Ángel Núñez’s noon warnings of very high flood risk and >200 l/m² recorded.
- Arguing that “230 deaths is not acceptable,” she said institutional protocols failed despite extensive real‑time data, including an 800‑observer local network available to authorities and the public.
- She refuted claims used in political and legal defenses, saying 180 l/m² was a minimum threshold, disputing that there were 35 comparable red alerts in a decade, and rejecting that À Punt pointed viewers to the Serranía de Cuenca; she added that an earlier general alert that afternoon would have saved lives, crediting 60 municipalities and the Utiel mayor for canceling classes and reducing risk.