Pablo Arranz
The mayor of Coruña, Inés Rey, took stock this morning of the situation in the city following the electrical supply cut. Rey recalled that the municipal government set up a crisis cabinet as soon as the extent of the damage was known, which continuously monitored the situation and the measures to be taken to prevent incidents throughout yesterday.
The crisis cabinet, which also included the Government Sub-delegation, allowed the city to be recovering normality today with hardly any significant incidents.
In addition to freeing more than 90 people trapped in elevators in the early moments, emergency services also dealt with three fires in kitchens, fires caused by stoves left on that were not turned off by the homeowners when the power was restored. In total, there were 108 interventions by the Fire Department and Civil Protection and 65 by the Local Police.
The Local Police doubled their night shift, and the National Police tripled their presence on the streets. There were no significant security-related incidents. Throughout the night, the Local Police controlled traffic at the most important intersections in the city due to the absence of traffic lights. No accidents were reported. A total of 257 people were working on the operation yesterday.
The Social Welfare area had an especially intense day yesterday. 321 home-delivered meals were distributed, and a total of 1,448 services were provided, the majority as planned. By 11.00 this morning, visits were made to 606 people receiving home care services. In addition, civic centers maintained their programming with 64 out of 70 planned activities completed.
«I want to thank the exemplary behavior of the people of Coruña in a particularly complex moment that ended last night after 13 hours of uncertainty,» said Inés Rey, who highlighted that this morning the Mayor contacted 38 neighborhood entities in the city to verify that the situation was returning to normal in all neighborhoods of Coruña.
The mayor also thanked the dedication and commitment of all the personnel involved in emergency services, both municipal and from other administrations: «The work of the Local Police, Firefighters, Civil Protection, municipal technicians, and the National Police was impeccable from the very beginning to prevent risky situations,» she said.
Municipal teams also helped people with reduced mobility return to their homes due to the lack of elevators and provided personalized follow-up for vulnerable individuals in coordination with Civil Protection and the Red Cross.
Most municipal services were restored throughout the morning. In cultural facilities, all open to the public, only the Municipal Music School and the kiosk in Ourense Square were still without power in the early morning. The Municipal Music School regained power at 12:00, and efforts are being made to also activate the kiosk.
Regarding educational services, by order of the Galician Government, nursery schools remain closed today. As for primary schools, following the instructions of the Government this morning, all are open with janitorial and cleaning services in operation.
The traffic light network was fully restored throughout the morning.
The water supply, also affected by the damage, was gradually being restored. At 1:45 am, electricity was restored to start the pumping groups in Eirís and Monte Alto, allowing water to return to the higher areas of the city. At 3:10 am, power was restored at the Telva facilities, which resumed normal pumping, although during the outage, the supply was maintained through pumping with generators. There may be cases of water turbidity in the higher parts of the city during the day, which is due to changes in pressure.
