This month Spain has faced severe flooding, with Valencia’s coastal region hit particularly hard. Hundreds have lost their lives, and with thousands missing, recovery efforts are underway.
Volunteers from Harrow have joined in, bringing supplies, assisting with clean-up, and providing first aid to those in need.
Among them is Paolo Arrigo, a Harrow resident and member of St John’s Ambulance Service, who, along with his son Vincenzo and Ali Fawzi, arrived on the scene shortly after hearing about the crisis.
“After hearing 2,500 people were missing, we decided to organise an urgent trip to help locate the victims,” he explained.
Paolo, Vincenzo, and Ali were prepared with skills as emergency responders, which they put to use as they helped locals search for missing persons.
Paolo described the situation they found on arrival. “The destruction, the force is just mind boggling,” he said. The volunteers began by digging cars out of underground garages, searching them to ensure they were empty.
“The underground car park looks like a scene from a zombie movie,” one volunteer noted, highlighting the scale of damage left by the floodwaters.
Working to aid the local community, Paolo and his team witnessed a strong sense of solidarity among residents, with many coming together to help.
“The best of people is visible here, a community spirit, young people shifting rubble, old people preparing food,” Paolo said. He described it as “uplifting to witness and be a part of.”
The team have documented their most recent mission in a short documentary called Frontline On The Floodline: Digging Deep and Unearthing Hope for Valencia, which you can see below.
Their efforts continue, with Paolo and his team hoping to inspire others to contribute. “We hope our presence as the first Brits on scene here will inspire others to donate and raise awareness,” he shared.
The group is now back in the UK. You can watch more of their content, including previous missions, at their official Instagram page.
Chris Mitchell is the founder and editor of Harrow Online, Harrow’s leading local news platform.
He launched Harrow Online in 2010 as a Facebook page sharing local news and information. Since then, it has grown into a trusted source for breaking news, crime, council decisions, planning, transport, business and community stories across the borough.
Harrow Online reaches hundreds of thousands of readers each month and has a social media audience of more than 200,000 followers.
For news tips, press releases or enquiries, contact Chris at info@harrowonline.org.
