Ninos Nasios, a Greek student and water polo athlete living and studying in Valencia, found himself facing another catastrophic weather event, marking the second time in a year.
The Spanish city has been devastated by severe weather, claiming the lives of at least 205 people and causing immense material damage. His experience in Valencia strongly reminds him of last year’s floods in Volos, where he once again faced the power of nature firsthand.
Nasios, who is studying Sports Management, has been in Valencia for a month for his studies and is also training with an A2 water polo team in Spain. He lives on the fifth floor of an apartment building in the city center and shared his experience of the recent storm with protothema.gr.
“There weren’t floods in the center, but in areas just 20 minutes away, the situation was tragic. That’s where the largest amount of water fell, causing widespread destruction,” he says.
He recalls the night when the emergency alert sounded, as the outskirts of Valencia had already been hit hard. “The wind was very strong; even tree trunks were uprooted,” he describes. One of his classmates, who was in the suburbs, was stranded for three days due to the storm.
“She was the one who warned us not to leave our homes. The university had alerted us about dangerous weather, but no one expected such widespread devastation,” he says.
“We were advised not to head south due to unhealthy conditions.”
This recent experience in Valencia takes him back to the floods in Volos a year ago, where he was fortunate, as he was in the city center and didn’t experience direct flooding.
However, he recalls the difficult days without power and water. Now, in Valencia, the situation is even harder. “We were told not to head south due to the unhealthy conditions that have emerged after the destruction,” Nasios notes.
Although the storm has now subsided, residents of Valencia are still recovering from the unprecedented intensity of the event. “This time of year, the weather is usually sunny and warm, but locals told me this is the worst October in recent years,” he concludes.
