The Aula Magna of the School of Building Engineering (ETSIE) at the UPV has been the venue for the institutional tribute to the professionals who, over the past months, have worked on the technical assessment of the damage caused by the DANA storm in the province of Valencia. The inspection campaign, promoted by the Ministry of Territorial Policy and the Valencian Regional Government and coordinated by the Valencian Institute of Building, has involved the mobilisation of more than 300 technicians.

Thanks to this operation, around 12,000 buildings in 96 municipalities have been inspected, making it possible to evaluate the condition of more than 55,000 homes. Twenty professors from the Universitat Politècnica de València, belonging to the ETSA, ETSIE, ETSICCP and ETSII schools, have also participated in this work, taking on important coordination and specialised technical support tasks.

During his speech, the Rector of the UPV, José Capilla, recalled the human and social impact of those days and the immediate response provided by the university community. “I remember that 29 October. I remember how we mobilised. In many ways. The UPV provided accommodation for people who came to help. We made an enormous logistical effort and all our scientific and technical resources were mobilised. Many people coordinated spontaneously,” he stated.

The Rector also stressed the need to strengthen preparedness for future emergencies. “We must be ready for catastrophes like this. These situations will happen again. We live in a flood-prone area and we lack a culture of self-protection that should start in schools. We should have modernised the warning systems,” he said. Capilla concluded his remarks with a message of gratitude to the technical teams: “Thank you very much because you have helped thousands of people. Congratulations.”

The event was chaired by the First Vice-President and Regional Minister for Housing, Employment, Youth and Equality, Susana Camarero, and brought together representatives of public administrations, professional associations and organisations involved in managing the emergency. During the ceremony, certificates were presented to the inspectors and public recognition was given to the work carried out by the different participating teams.

This recognition marks the end of a technical campaign that has been essential to assess the impact of the DANA storm and to plan reconstruction actions, highlighting the importance of cooperation between administrations, institutions and universities in order to provide an effective and coordinated response to emergency situations.