The videos incorporated into the criminal investigation into the DANA capture the start of the CECOPI, when at 17:00 p.m. Deputy Director Jorge Suárez put forward a cell phone call to the Utiel-Requena area. At that moment, Emergencies raised warnings given the seriousness of the episode.
That approach, according to the images and testimonies, referred to Selective SMS and not to ES-Alert public alert system, whose debate opened around 19:00 and whose first submission took place at risk of the Forata dam.
What exactly was raised at 17:00 p.m.
At the beginning of the meeting, Suárez explained that, "depending on what we decide, we can send a message to all cell phones in that area." The proposal limited the warning to the affected area. with the option of SMS sent to Utiel-Requena, given the evolution of the episode.
In that time slot, Utiel-Requena was the only region with Situation 2 of the Special Flood Plan and with compromised access. Technically, it was considered to prioritize localized messages, as there was not yet a scenario for a general public notice to the entire province.
In parallel, various attendees point out that they were sent thousands of SMS to local authorities and officials in that area - some statements speak of up to 22.000 shipments - while the teams attended rescues and roadblocks due to the persistent rain.
What the CECOPI videos show
The “silent” recordings—designed to provide only images—place on the table Salomé Pradas, Emilio Argüeso and Jorge Suárez, along with General Director Alberto Martín, the head of the Firefighters Consortium, José Miguel Basset, and commanders of the UME already deployed in Utiel.
Telematic connections such as that of Pilar Barnabas You can hear the UME being asked if it is safe to enter; the answer is affirmative, depending on the current. The Fire Chief describes the DANA as “stagnant” in Requena-Utiel, with People on rooftops, risk of hypothermia and complex rescues.
A second clip includes images after 20:30, with the arrival of the President Carlos Mazón to the CECOPI. We can see him mentioning coverage problems on his phone—an incident that others present consider widespread—and Pradas can be seen stating that what happened is “something never seen before” and warning: “Before sending the next message I want to see it".
Timeline of ES-Alert and the Forata risk
Around 19:00, the focus shifts to Forata: it is proposed use ES-Alert for potentially affected populationsSuárez reads the beginning of the text, and the councilor requests that official channels be followed.
The first public notice via ES-Alert leaves at 20:11, after at 18:05 situation 2 will be declared according to the Confederation due to the risk at the Forata dam, while the Magro River is also being monitored to avoid a Tous-type scenario.
The sources consulted and the materials sent to the court converge: A mass message was not contemplated at the province or through ForataThe general discussion about ES-Alert began later and focused on that specific risk.
Meanwhile, preliminary records show that at 16:14 PM, AEMET warned of a shift in the maximum rainfall toward the northwest and, between 18:00 PM and 21:00 PM, toward the Serrañía de Cuenca mountain range; at 16:13 PM, the CHJ reported decreasing flow rates in the Poyo ravine. Despite this, The Poyo ravine was not discussed at the meeting., the origin of a good part of the victims.
From the videos and testimonies, a clear sequence emerges: at 17:00 PM, SMS messages were discussed for Utiel; from 19:00 PM, the debate shifted to ES-Alert for Forata, and at 20:11 PM, the public announcement was issued. All of this is now part of the case being handled by the head of Investigation 3 in Catarroja, Nuria Ruiz Tobarra, which analyzes how decisions were made in real time with changing information.
