The communities of several Valencia CF players and former players have been severely affected by the devastating DANA. Juan Sánchez shared his experience during this tragic event on L’Informatiu of VCF Radio.

Sánchez, from Aldaia, trained at the VCF Academy and joined the first team in the 1992-93 season. During his two stints with Valencia CF, he made history with the club, winning four titles: the Super Cup (1999-2000), La Liga (2001-02 and 2003-04), and the UEFA Cup (2003-04).

Situation

“We’re trying, little by little, to help the town return to normal. It’s been really hard, but slowly we’re seeing progress. Since yesterday, there’s been a lot more people around, large machinery removing cars, belongings, and whatever people had in their homes. There are more police and military personnel... people had been waiting for them since Thursday. They arrived late—it could have been done much earlier; they took many days, and a lot of garages were still flooded. It’s a complete disaster. Day after day, being here with everyone is awful, like a nightmare.”

Family

“My parents are okay; they live on the third floor. My brother has a painting business and lost several vans, as well as the space where he kept all his materials, and a cousin lost both of her cars. These are material losses that still impact your life, although it doesn’t compare to the loss of life, but it’s still important.”

Aldaia

“We’ve felt a lot of love from so many people, from Valencia and beyond. We would have liked more support from the relevant authorities from the beginning, with police, military, firefighters... there were so many streets with many elderly people living on ground floors... those in charge should have realized how severe this catastrophe was. Action should have been taken from the very start.”

Help from the Community

“We’ve really felt the warmth and support from everyone. It was moving to be in the town and see the number of people who walked all the way from Valencia and other towns. We welcomed them with open arms. That help saved many lives. But I’ll say again, we would have liked for the seriousness of the situation to have been recognized from day one, so that the damage could have been reduced.”

Moment of the DANA

“I was playing padel and cards, and around 6:00 p.m., I went home. It was very windy, but it wasn’t raining heavily. I stayed home, left the car in the garage, went to a kiosk by the ravine to buy a lottery ticket, and then went back home to relax. Suddenly, I looked out the window and saw people moving their cars onto the sidewalk and roundabouts. I panicked and thought that water had already flooded the garage, but nothing had happened. I went out to the street, and people were uncertain because water was coming in from the next street. At some point, someone suggested we move our cars to the edge of town where it was higher, so I quickly took my car out. I managed to save it by making that quick decision. I had left my phone at home, and when I tried to go back, water was already halfway down the street, so I forgot about the phone. I headed toward Mislata and took the A-3 with fear. There, nothing was happening. I spent the night there and called my daughters, who were in Madrid, from my partner’s phone. The next day, I walked back home, and it looked like an earthquake or a war had struck. It was terrible.”