The Valencian Federation of Municipalities and Provinces (FVMP) recently participated in Alzira in the second of six informational sessions promoted by the Conselleria of Emergencies and Interior, with the collaboration of the Federation itself, to improve municipal preparedness against flood risk. The session, aimed at elected officials and municipal technical staff, focused on prior planning, coordination between administrations, and the practical application of municipal emergency plans.
The deputy secretary-general of the FVMP, Modesto Martínez, emphasized the fundamental role of town halls as the primary citizen reference in critical situations. Martínez conveyed the Federation's commitment to supporting municipal leaders and facilitating dialogue with other administrations. He positively assessed the existing coordination with the Conselleria of Emergencies and Interior and expressed the willingness to continue working together to provide municipalities with the necessary information and tools to face these episodes with greater safety.
For his part, the regional secretary of Emergencies and Interior, Fernando Lasheras, defended the importance of developing prevention throughout the year. He pointed out that municipal plans, action protocols, and communication procedures must be updated, known by those who must apply them, and adapted to the specific characteristics of each municipality. Lasheras stressed the importance of self-protection and providing citizens with clear information on how to act during a flood, summarizing the objective with the message: «In an emergency, improvising is never an option».
The session, held at the Alzira Town Hall, also included the participation of the local mayor, Alfons Domínguez, who presented the municipality's work in emergency planning, and the Director General of Coordination of Fire Prevention, Extinction, and Rescue Services, Andrés Balfagó. Subsequently, technicians from Emergencies and Civil Protection explained the functioning of the Special Plan against Flood Risk and its local application, covering phases, precipitation monitoring, critical point surveillance, and municipal organization.
The value of information provided by the municipalities themselves was highlighted, as direct knowledge of the territory allows for detecting flow increases in ravines and smaller basins, understanding the impacts, and transferring this information to the Coordination Center to improve decision-making. The session emphasized that having a Municipal Action Plan (PAM IN) is not enough if it is not correctly implemented, requiring updates, training, drills, and adaptation to the real capabilities of each locality.
In the practical part, preventive measures such as cleaning drains, marking problematic areas, closing flood-prone roads, protecting infrastructure, assisting vulnerable people, preparing evacuations, and disseminating self-protection recommendations were reviewed. The role of the Local Police in territorial surveillance and access control was also analyzed. Technicians stressed six key principles: preparation begins before the rain, knowing the risk and territory allows for anticipation, information is the basis for decisions, coordination is essential, protecting the population is a priority, and a municipal plan is only effective when implemented.
This session in Alzira continues a program of six meetings that will also include sessions in Formentera del Segura, Vallanca, Benicarló, and Dénia, as part of the Conselleria's flood prevention campaign to enhance municipalities' capacity for anticipation and response to intense rainfall.
