DANA has been in the news in the last few days. I’d never come across these initials before, despite having lived in Spain for more than a decade and a half.
Previously I’d only come across the name twice.
The Eurovision song contest winner Dana from Ireland, who scored a massive hit with “All Kinds of Everything” after she won the 1970 Eurovision Song Contest aged 18 and still a schoolgirl.
She entered politics in 1997, and was elected as an MEP for Connacht–Ulster in 1999, where she served from 1999 to 2004.
Dana is the same age as I am - 74.
The other is my step-niece Dana, a German physiotherapist, who is the daughter of my German brother-in-law Horst. She has just turned 40.
Both of these Danas are beautiful women, by the way.
DANA 2024
The latest DANA is NOT beautiful, however. Making its first appearance in Spain for several decades – which explains why I’d never heard of it – it has devastated large parts of southern and eastern Spain in the last few days. The provisional death toll is 95, but dozens of people are unaccounted for.
DANA, or “Depresión Aislada en Niveles Altos” (Isolated Depression at High Levels), is also known as a "gota fria” (cold drop) and occurs when a cold air mass becomes isolated in the atmosphere. When this cold air collides with the warm, humid air of the Mediterranean, it triggers torrential rains and extreme weather conditions.
The main areas affected are Castilla-La Mancha, País Valenciano and Andalucía.
DANA affected areas [El Tiempo]
Worst hit is the Valencia region, which reports most of the deaths so far. The severe weather, consisting of thunder and lightning, heavy rain, hailstones and high winds has devastated communities from Valencia all the way to Málaga and Cádiz provinces.
The devastation in inland Málaga, not far from where we live in Ronda, has to be seen to be believed: burst river banks, flooded houses, electricity blackouts, dozens of cars washed away, crops ruined.
Coastal resorts are also under water and parts of the A3 and A7 roads have been closed because of severe flooding.
Photos courtesy of Instagram
Where will it end?
The response from the authorities has been fast and effective, with Policia Local and Los Bomberos in the forefront. Policia Nacional and Guardia Civil have also played their part, as have the Spanish military.
Spanish prime minister, Pedro Sanchez, is visiting the stricken Valencia region today (Thursday) and King Felipe VI has addressed the nation on TV
The European Union has promised financial and other support.
Pedro Sanchez addresses the nation [Agencia efe]
What next?
This is an ongoing story. A disaster of catastrophic proportions, unseen in Spain in over a century. Is climate change to blame? It makes you think, doesn’t it?
© Paul Whitelock
Acknowledgements:
ABC
Diario SUR
MSN
RTVE
SUR in English
The Olive Press
Wikipedia
Links:
PHOTOS: What is DANA and Why Did This Phenomenon Turn Parts of Spain Into an Apocalyptic Scene?
What is DANA, the weather system that brought Spain a year's worth of rain in one day and its worst natural disaster in modern history? - ABC News
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