Moncabril Finalizes Its Emergency Plan

• During these days, dissemination tasks have been carried out to the affected population in the radio, local press and the City of Galende • Communication systems have also been tested • Ángel Blanco wanted to show his gratitude to all the agents involved in the Emergency Plan of the dams of the Moncabril system. In the opinion of the subdelegate of the Government, “this type of exercises give tranquility to all the inhabitants of the municipality of Galende and are fundamental to any type of incident that may arise”

September 14, 2023.- The Subdelegate of the Government in Zamora, Ángel Blanco, attended this morning the annual training exercises of the implementation of the emergency plan of the dams of the Sierra de Moncabril, in the region of Sanabria, to prove, among other things, that the sirens that warn about anomalies in these dams work to prevent the population from any possible threat that endangers their safety.

Around 12:00h the sirens of the dams of Puente Porto, Playa, Garandones, Cárdena and Vega de Conde have been heard in the mountains of Moncabril and in different places of the municipal term of Galende, especially in Ribadelago Viejo and Ribadelago Nuevo, which are in the flood area in the first half hour in a hypothetical rupture of some of the dams.

Under the cover of the emergency plans, eight high-power sirens are installed in various places that have worked perfectly when they have been activated within this exercise carried out by the Government of Spain, through the General Directorate of Civil Protection and Emergencies and the Hydrographic Confederation of the Duero; the Junta de Castilla y León, and the company Endesa in order to further increase the guarantees and safety of these infrastructures.

The Emergency Plans of Dams, establish that all dams will have the following elements:

1. Emergency Room. There shall be an emergency room, conveniently located in the vicinity of the dam and equipped with the necessary technical means to serve as a command post for the director of the Emergency Plan of Dam and to ensure communications with the public bodies involved in the management of the emergency.
2. System of Communication. Redundant communication systems (optical fiber and satellite telephone), installed from the Emergency Room, in order to ensure communications with public agencies involved in emergency management.
3. Population Warning System. The population warning system will be installed to alert the population living in the flood zone during the first half hour (Ribadelago Viejo and Ribadelago Nuevo). The elements of warning to the population, are acoustic speakers and support different types of signal (simulations, emergencies, etc. ).

It has been proven in the sound test that the decibel level is adequate. The mast on which the different mermaids are located has eleven meters. They have a power variable between 137 and 147 decibels. According to the director of the Emergency Plan, Adrián Ortega, of the Endesa company, the goal is to exceed 70 decibels in the entire area of affliction. In addition to the devices in the dams, the warning system consists of a siren in the Pico del Fraile, another in the central of Moncabril and one more, the eighth, in Ribadelago Nuevo. These emergency plans affect many aspects and establish various procedures for the occurrence of incidents in the normal functioning of the dams.

This morning it has also been verified that the communication systems in the various control centers of the dams work. In addition to the subdelegate of the Government, there were also the lieutenant colonel and head of the Civil Guard Command in Zamora; the head of the Civil Protection Unit of the Government Subdelegation in Zamora; the head of Civil Protection of the Territorial Delegation of the Junta de Castilla y León; the member of the implementation committee of the Duero Hydrographic Confederation; the mayor of the City of Galende, and heads of the northwest area of the Endesa company.

The region of Sanabresa is particularly sensitive because it recalls the catastrophe of Ribadelago, a tragedy that occurred in the early morning of January 9, 1959, in which 144 of the 532 inhabitants of this town died when their urban center was razed and flooded by the flood that originated after the break of the dam of Vega de Tera.

Ángel Blanco wanted to show his gratitude to all the agents involved in the Emergency Plan of the dams of the Moncabril system. In the opinion of the subdelegate of the Government, “this type of exercises give tranquility to all the inhabitants of the municipality of Galende and are fundamental to any type of incident that may arise”. “It is not only a matter of complying with the Basic Directive on Civil Protection Planning for Flood Risk, approved by agreement of the Council of Ministers of January 31, 1995, and published in the BOE of February 14 of the same year, but it is intended that the Emergency Plan be a living element that is in permanent improvement to face with guarantees any vicissitudes that may occur”, concluded Blanco