Alicante Health Workers Face the Tragedy: "We Had Never Seen Anything Like It"

Alicante nurse Penelope Marqués, despite having previous experience in other disasters, is clear when referring to the DANA that has hit Valencia. "We had never seen anything like it." She also speaks on behalf of two firefighters from Córdoba, with whom she traveled to ground zero of the tragedy to assist in reconstruction tasks. The three were part of the first contingent that moved to the scene of the tragedy on behalf of Firefighters Without Borders, an NGO participating in emergency operations worldwide.

Marqués works as a SAMU nurse in Alicante and had previously collaborated in other natural disasters, such as the earthquake that struck Ecuador in 2016 and the tsunami in Indonesia in 2018. Both disasters left hundreds dead; however, the mark left on the Alicante nurse by this recent DANA seems deeper: "We were impressed. It was a very aggressive overflow."

Together with her two Cordoban colleagues from Firefighters Without Borders, Penelope analyzed on the ground the best way her NGO could help manage the disaster. All this thinking about the new batch of volunteers the organization has sent to Valencia, composed of 15 firefighters and two health workers from Madrid, Córdoba, and Huelva. "Our priority right now is to bring water pumps to drain flooded garages and underground facilities."

The numerous stagnant water points pose one of the biggest problems in post-tragedy tasks, as they are a source of infections. "We are in a phase of the tragedy where there is a high risk of diseases spreading. Decomposing organic material threatens to contaminate the water and thus cause infections to proliferate."

Fortunately, she explains that the public health system network has not collapsed, despite the severe damage to some health centers. In fact, the Ministry of Health reported this week that healthcare activity has been restored in 47 of the 57 health centers affected by the floods, and that activity in the ten that remain closed is still being provided at extraordinary points set up in collaboration with local administrations.

The challenge for Health is not only in attending to urgent cases caused by the DANA but also in addressing the everyday pathologies of the population. "We cannot forget that there are still chronic patients, such as diabetics, as well as heart attacks or pathologies not related to the natural disaster," explains the Alicante nurse.

Many of these patients have been attended to by primary care doctor María José Picó, who volunteered from the Onil health center where she works to act in the affected area. In her case, she was sent to the Alberic health center, a municipality that, although not directly affected by the flood, is a workplace for doctors living in neighboring municipalities devastated by the DANA, and who are therefore having difficulty returning to work.

After finishing her regular morning shift this past Monday at her practice, María José left Onil for Alberic, where she covered a 17-hour shift, starting at 5 p.m. and ending at 8 a.m. the next day. That is, a workday of almost 24 hours. Despite the magnitude of the tragedy that touched Alberic, the doctor assures that she perceived "serenity" in the neighbors and patients she attended in this municipality of the Ribera Alta.

Another Alicante resident who lent a hand as a volunteer was Alberto Ruiz, who used his training to provide double help. A trained nurse with ten years of experience working in the SAMU, Alberto has been working as a firefighter in the Alicante City Council brigade for two years. Along with the rest of his team of volunteers, and taking advantage of not being on duty, Alberto went to Algemesí last Saturday to help in the operation, and he intends to return this Friday.

The main tasks he carried out were draining water from numerous flooded garages, evacuating areas at risk of collapse, and removing vehicles from the road. However, taking advantage of his training as a health worker, he also attended to an elderly woman who was suffering from an anxiety attack.