Whilst insurance companies are still calculating the material costs of the damage caused by the recent flooding across the region, and friends and families still mourning those who lost their lives, the department of justice has already counted 1,450 animals that perished in the waters caused by the DANA.
The regional minister for justice, Gabriela Bravo, presented the startling account during a meeting at the Municipal Emergency Coordination Centre in Dolores. The centre, known as Cecopal, is tasked with coordinating the repair and recovery operation following the downpour which occurred between the 11th and 14th of this month.
Even though weeks have passed since the incident, a team of experts is still working in the area of Dolores, Almoradí, San Fulgencio and Daya Vieja, with 45 forest firefighters with two pumps, 8 veterinarians and 42 Protección Civil volunteers amongst them, with part of their role being the recovery of the dead animals.
The animals so far recovered have mainly been poultry, sheep and pigs, although there are domestic animals who were also caught in the catastrophe.
The next meeting of Cecopal in Dolores will be on Monday, when the decision to scale down the operation is expected to be made, although water has still not completely drained from many areas, most of which are being monitored by drones.
The organic matter is also being monitored to make sure that any public health risk is kept to a minimum, as there is a risk of the spread of disease, as well as ensuring insecticidal treatments that are being applied to ponds of stagnant water to prevent the proliferation of mosquito larvae.
Of course, the account and figures are only representative of the area around Dolores and the municipalities the emergency workers there are serving. The figure will be much higher across the entire region where animals have been seen in some places decaying for over a week, unable to be recovered.
