"98% of Vehicles Affected by DANA Will Be Declared Total Loss"

While the streets of the affected areas in the province of Valencia are being cleaned after last week's DANA, it remains to be determined what specific damages have been suffered by the more than 100,000 cars that were swept away by the floods.

All insurance compensations will be carried out by the Insurance Compensation Consortium, which depends on the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Business, since the storm and its consequences are part of what is classified as "extraordinary risks."

To receive them, however, it is necessary that the assets, in this case, the vehicles, are insured and have a valid policy. Additionally, they must present a damage report, and although there are already experts in the area—each insurer provides their own to their clients—it is still expected that it will take months to process all the affected cars.

Due to the great damage these vehicles have suffered, as well as the average age of the Valencian fleet—which closed 2023 with 13.9 years of age—it is estimated that "98% of them will be declared a total loss," a roadside assistance company told ABC.

Regional associations of workshops and tow truck operators have rallied to help the municipalities affected by the floods, something for which the regional workshop association, Fevauto, is very grateful. "It has been incredible to see so many people wanting to lend a hand in this situation," they say from the association, "but the coordination has been truly crazy."

To begin with, each tow truck operating within a province must be registered and have a permit from the corresponding city council. "At first, we requested them one by one from the Generalitat, but we quickly moved to send them directly to the affected towns," upon seeing that it was a bottleneck point.

From the association, which represents the interests of more than 1,000 workshops in the region, they point out that more tow trucks are still needed to remove cars from the streets to allow the passage of heavy machinery and the army.

However, some workshops have already managed to clean their facilities only to find that everything not bolted to the floor has disappeared in the mud, leaving behind only the hydraulic jack.

"For now, it is too early to go to the workshops that have been affected, which are barely recovering their electrical installations, internet, and drainage"—which are also coordinated by the Valencian Metal Federation—"but mobile workshops and tow trucks that can provide assistance in the towns are more important," they affirm.