Overview
- Aurora Roca, the Generalitat’s emergency press chief, told the court that crisis coordinators at Cecopi knew they faced an extraordinary situation during the Oct. 29, 2024 storm that left 229 dead in Valencia.
- Roca testified that deputy emergency chief Jorge Suárez proposed a mass mobile alert around 17:00, the option was revisited after 18:00, and a draft was prepared but no alert was ultimately sent.
- Her account described digital disconnections for Cecopi participants connected by Zoom, including government delegate Pilar Bernabé, during key moments of the response.
- She said forecasts from Oct. 27 had already signaled an adverse episode and a likely gota fría, challenging claims that authorities lacked advance warning.
- Judge Nuria Ruiz Tobarra has rejected the external “information blackout” thesis, asserting the only blackout was within Cecopi, which counters the defense advanced by the regional government and its allies.