The DANA disaster: unraveling the political and economic determinants for Valencia's floods devastation.

IF 4.5 2区医学 Q1 PUBLIC, ENVIRONMENTAL & OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH International Journal for Equity in Health Pub Date : 2025-03-05 DOI:10.1186/s12939-025-02435-0

Pablo Galvez-Hernandez, Yining Dai, Carles Muntaner

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Abstract

On October 29, 2024, the DANA (Depresión Aislada en Niveles Altos) floods devastated the Spanish region of Valencia, resulting in 224 fatalities, extensive infrastructural destruction, and profound physical and mental health impacts. This analysis examines how political neglect, systemic corruption, and historical policy legacies exacerbated the disaster's consequences. Corruption-driven urbanization of flood-prone areas during Spain's real estate boom (1997-2007), coupled with the systematic reduction of critical emergency infrastructure and inadequate emergency response protocols, highlights a political agenda misaligned with public welfare. The political discourse following the disaster has been marked by a lack of accountability, with public outrage culminating in mass protests. As Valencia confronts the aftermath, Spain faces a critical moment to demonstrate whether it can uphold democratic principles, prioritizing public welfare, and addressing the institutional and political-economic deficiencies exposed by the DANA floods.

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2024 年 10 月 29 日，DANA（Depresión Aislada en Niveles Altos）洪水肆虐西班牙巴伦西亚地区，造成 224 人死亡，大量基础设施被毁，身心健康受到严重影响。本分析报告探讨了政治忽视、系统性腐败和历史政策遗留问题是如何加剧灾难后果的。在西班牙房地产繁荣时期（1997-2007 年），腐败推动了洪水易发地区的城市化进程，再加上关键应急基础设施的系统性减少和应急协议的不完善，凸显了政治议程与公共福利的不一致。灾难发生后的政治讨论缺乏问责制，公众的愤怒最终导致了大规模抗议。在巴伦西亚应对灾后问题的过程中，西班牙面临着一个关键时刻，需要证明自己是否能够坚持民主原则，优先考虑公共福利，并解决 DANA 洪灾暴露出的制度和政治经济缺陷。

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来源期刊

International Journal for Equity in Health Medicine-Health Policy

CiteScore

7.80

自引率

4.20%

发文量

162

审稿时长

28 weeks

期刊介绍： International Journal for Equity in Health is an Open Access, peer-reviewed, online journal presenting evidence relevant to the search for, and attainment of, equity in health across and within countries. International Journal for Equity in Health aims to improve the understanding of issues that influence the health of populations. This includes the discussion of political, policy-related, economic, social and health services-related influences, particularly with regard to systematic differences in distributions of one or more aspects of health in population groups defined demographically, geographically, or socially.