Update from Valencia: We Are Safe

First, thank you to everyone who has reached out to check on us. Your messages, calls, and concerns mean a great deal. We are deeply touched by your thoughtfulness during this difficult time.

Let's not bury the lede: We are safe.

A little background: there was unprecedented rainfall in Valencia, our new Spanish home. It was so intense that areas around the city received more rain in 8 hours than they usually do in a year. This has caused catastrophic flooding and destruction that has tragically claimed over 200 lives and counting.

We live in the City of Valencia, which is situated in the eponymous province – Valencia, Valencia - much like New York, New York. Much of the city has been spared from the flooding. The outlying areas of the province, however, have been utterly obliterated.

Here are some visuals to give you an idea of the scale and severity of the destruction:

We want to share our experience while acknowledging the devastating impact this disaster has had on our broader community.

The disaster

The BBC put together a short news segment that provides helpful context for the scale of the disaster. As of this writing, it's a couple of days old, so unfortunately, the death toll has already surpassed 200 and will almost certainly continue to rise:

Since Tuesday, our region has experienced unprecedented rainfall - in some areas, more than a year's worth of rain fell in a single day. This has become Spain's deadliest natural disaster in living memory, surpassing all previous flooding events in our region's history. Even longtime residents say these floods were many times worse than the historic floods of 1957, which led Valencia to reroute a river that used to run through the center of the city.

The impact has been catastrophic. Communities are experiencing widespread power outages, damaged infrastructure, impassable roads, broken bridges, complete isolation of towns, desperate calls for food and water, and emergency evacuations by helicopter and boat in otherwise unreachable areas.

Our experience

The storm that hit on Tuesday night was intense. The sky was alight every 1-2 seconds with lightning, accompanied by extremely strong winds and pummeling rain. While the city area saw significant rainfall and wind damage, it's largely unscathed. We're very grateful - and extremely fortunate - that we're safe and that our new Spanish home is untouched.

As it happened, we had company in town when the storm hit. We are so grateful for the community and family we have here and abroad. Our dear friends Devin, Ode, and their daughter Margot were visiting this week from Nantes, France. While their visit to Valencia is not at all what they had planned, Eleanor and Margot were able to spend time together. Being around them while they were just kids being kids was a big help. Also, a big thank you to our wonderful friends Alexis, Ro, and Linda for also weathering the storm with us.

Valencians are rallying to help one another

The scale of the community response has been remarkable. Not only are people donating supplies, but they're also trudging through the mud on foot to the affected areas on the outskirts of the city.

Yes, the flood brought unimaginable destruction. But there are waves of people who are walking in the water's wake bringing much-needed hope. They're pouring in with food, water, medications, diapers, and other much-needed supplies. When they arrive, they're cleaning away mud, debris, and doing what they can to put people's lives back together. The solidarity is phenomenal.

Everyone is doing something. As you walk through the city of Valencia, you see the sidewalks peppered with collection points for donations. This one is just outside our door:

How we're helping

Our family is participating in local relief efforts where we can. Our daughter's school has become a collection point for essential supplies, and we've been contributing:

• Bottled water (many areas don't have running water)
• Nonperishable, ready-to-eat food
• Blood (the blood supply is nearly empty)
• Cleaning supplies (shovels, buckets, mops)

Eleanor being Eleanor, she also made our neighbors a card to let them know that they're in our hearts:

How you can help

The Red Cross is coordinating relief efforts and accepting donations. The needs are significant as the area begins the long process of recovery. Many areas still lack basic services like water and electricity.

If you'd like to help, you can make a donation on the Red Cross's website by clicking on the red "Dona" or "Donate" button.

Looking forward

While we are safe, our hearts are with the many communities in our province who have lost so much. The devastation can be felt everywhere, even the areas that weren't flooded. You see people weeping on the sidewalks and holding each other in stores. Everyone feels raw.

As for immediate help, the Prime Minister of Spain announced today that he's deploying 10,000 additional soldiers, the largest peacetime mobilization in Spain's history. So far, Spanish forces have made 4,800 rescues.

Looking forward, this is almost certainly not the last extreme weather event to affect the region. Scientists are noting that this extreme weather event is linked to climate change. While climate change didn't cause this weather event, it made it dramatically worse. The summer was unusually hot, which caused more evaporation in the oceans. Warmer air can also retain more moisture, contributing to the severity of these types of disasters.

We're grateful for your concerns and messages, and we'll continue to help our neighbors as Valencia begins its recovery. The coming days and weeks will be challenging for many in our region, but we're seeing incredible resilience and solidarity among our neighbors.

Please keep the region in your thoughts, especially as the rescue efforts continue.

With love,
Joseph, Cassie & Eleanor

We'll update this post as the situation develops. Feel free to reach out to us directly if you need more information.