As the road to recovery continues, the Royal Spanish Canoe Federation (RFEP) visited canoe and kayak clubs destroyed by the deadly flash floods in Valencia in October.
The catastrophic phenomenon known locally as DANA — a Spanish acronym for high-altitude isolated depression — killed over 200 people and was the deadliest in modern Spanish history.
The Scooter Club in Algemesi and Club Piraguisme in Silla were among the paddle sports facilities that suffered great damage.
Miguel Molina and Carlos Moreno, President and coach of the Scooter Club, respectively, and Jonathan Cantarero, President of Club Piraguisme, shared their experiences of what happened on October 29 and the following weeks.
The paddling community in Spain came together to support the recovery process since the disaster, with athletes like Gonzalo Moreno and Laura Serra launching a solidarity challenge to raise funds for the recovery of the Scooter Club.
Olympian and world medallist Canoe Sprint athlete Paco Cubelos volunteered in Catarroja along with the Cullera Canoeing Club.
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He said that people's willingness to help was crucial and called for more volunteers to step in.
“We have done what the body asked of us. We have taken out many litres of water and tons of mud and debris,” Cubelos was quoted as saying by RFEP.
“The beautiful thing has been solidarity and the human chain.
“I have seen that the people want to minimise the damage and repair the situation as soon as possible.”
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You can donate to the help repair the damages caused by DANA to Scooter Club here.
Picture by RFEP.
