Valencia is planning to build two large parks in order to absorb any future floods

Brandon Cheevers

THE Valencia government Has announced the creation two massive parks on the outer reaches of the capital, to help mitigate the effects that future rainstorms will have on the city.

The floods last year, which destroyed entire communities and killed more than 200 people, are the reason for this.

The parks will be located along the River Turia (and the Poyo ravine)Barranco del PoyoIn the event that extreme flooding occurs again, as it did in October 2024 south of the metro area which destroyed property and caused the deaths of 227 people, the wetlands will provide a natural defence. 

The evidence shows that the L’Albufera Natural Park in the south helped prevent the flooding from spreading and the deaths of more people by acting as a sponge to absorb some of the huge amount of water produced by rains.

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3900 hectares will be used to create green corridors that connect L’Albufera.

It is part of a regeneration plan that has already seen enormous amounts of money spent on rebuilding communities, infrastructures and lands destroyed by floods. Thousands of tonnes of debris were also removed after the floods subsided.

The response by the council to the damage was described as ‘unprecedented’ by the Valencia government’s head of Environment, Infrastructure and Territory, Vicente Martínez Mus, who claims more than €600 million has been mobilised in the reconstruction project, including a daily investment of €2.8 million.

The new flood area on the Turia banks will be 10.5km long, and the Poyo ravine zone will be 5.5km by 18.5km. This will allow forest and coastal areas to be linked in the south and west via the natural park. 

The Poyo river, a 479km long watercourse, which collects the waters of the mountains to the west and branches out across the municipalities, ends at L’Albufera.

It is usually only a trickle.

The torrential rains in October last year created a phenomenon that was compared to a tsunami. Poyo flooded into the neighbouring villages with an incredible force. Pictures of this were broadcast across the globe.

One of the causes of devastation is the destruction of the environment, according to experts expertsThe presence of buildings and infrastructure works near the Poyo ravine is a concern, as it is predicted that the ravine will flood every five to six years.

The building of parks and the implementation of the regeneration plan are an attempt to redress a balance between the overbuilding and the nature, and to protect property and people from future climate disasters.

Carlos Mazon was the one who announced the new parks. Carlos Mazon has been heavily criticised by many for his part in the emergency response of the DANA in Valencia last year.

Valencia is governed by a coalition consisting of PP, Vox and the former PSOE council.

TAGS: Valencia, Valencia Region, Spain, Flooding, DANA, Flood prevention, Flood risk

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