Two unpublished communications between Utiel City Council and the Emergency Center, submitted to the DANA investigation, confirm the lack of instructions to the council during the emergency and the critical situation in the municipality. The first call, at 12:40 PM, shows an official seeking support to establish a municipal protocol and coordinate with the Generalitat's center. A technician from the center responded incredulously: "Coordinate? We never coordinate anything."
Utiel City Council eventually organized its own municipal Cecopi (Cecopal) minutes later, around 1:00 PM. At that time, it was still an hour before the Magro River would overflow within the municipal boundaries. The mayor of Utiel, Ricardo Gabaldón, stated in judicial proceedings that the council acted on "instinct," improvising, without receiving instructions from other institutions.
“"We do not have local resources to face the situation."
The second call, at 2:52 PM, when the Magro had already flooded part of the municipality, reinforces the idea of a lack of instructions. The deputy mayor informed the CCE that the situation was "critical" and requested the mobilization of the Military Emergencies Unit (UME) or external services, stating that "the river has overflowed" and "we do not have local resources to face the situation." Emergencies responded that the UME had already been requested and that "resources will arrive shortly."
Between the two conversations, the mayor of Utiel had already intervened on À Punt's news program, describing the situation as "critical, dantesque" and warning the population not to leave their homes due to the river's overflow.




