A common path
The scale of the Valencia region’s reconstruction challenge is formidable.
According to Mayor Silvent, some infrastructure — like Catarroja’s indoor pool and police station — is set to be rebuilt on higher ground, while buildings like the auditorium will be cleared of waterlogged elements and remodeled to ensure anyone trapped inside can quickly move to safety.
“We’ve also got to figure out how to move the machinery that powers city hall out of the basement and sort out the underground archive,” she said. “It’s a miracle water didn’t seep into it this time. If it had, we would have lost priceless documents, our history.”
Silvent noted the reconstruction process would require accepting that some buildings won’t be restored. “There was a time when every city in this region demanded to have its own theater, sports center, pool,” she said. “Now we’re thinking maybe we’re okay with commuting to the installations in the neighboring town, and having their residents use ours.”
The biggest challenge, however, will be private property in the city’s most vulnerable areas. So far, Silvent’s government has moved to cancel all unapproved construction permits for the riskiest sites, and is in the process of developing regulations to ensure new buildings are designed to handle floods. It’s also trying to reclaim land from the Horta Sud, a vast area of farmland that has historically helped soak up water in extreme weather events.
“This is land people have lately been buying up not because they wanted to cultivate food but because they wanted to engage in real estate speculation. We want it back because reactivating it will give us access to local, healthy food, and because we know irrigation canals can help us evacuate water in future crises,” she explained.