Dam Removal Is Not the Cause of the Devastating Floods in Valencia

Tobias, NASA/Wikimedia Commons

Original article (in Bosnian) was published on 14/1/2024; Author: Amar Karađuz

A misleading map of “dams removed” on social media is being used to claim that dam removal caused flooding in Valencia in October 2024.

After the devastating floods in Valencia at the end of October 2024, a claim appeared on Facebook on November 3rd stating that the floods were caused by the removal of dams in Spain over the past 20 years. While it is mentioned that there are no precise data for the Valencia region, Spain is highlighted as a leader in the EU initiative for river ecosystem restoration, with responsibility attributed to the UN and the World Economic Forum (WEF), specifically their Agenda 2030.

Bernie @Artemisfornow
SPAIN – Floods! A complete government failure is being covered up as ‘climate change.’ Let’s look at the more likely culprit… Over the past 20 years, Spain has actively removed dams to ‘restore river ecosystems and improve biodiversity.’ As per the UN and WEF Agenda 2030. Although specific data for the Valencia region is limited, Spain is a leader in this initiative. Just in 2021, they removed 108 dams – more than half of the 239 dams dismantled across Europe that year. Shhh… they didn’t want you to notice this 🤫🤫🤫😉🤫😉

The post also included a map where blue dots indicate dams that were allegedly removed in the vicinity of Valencia.

Photo: A map of dams allegedly removed near Valencia before the floods in October

On November 3rd, further posts circulated claiming that, in addition to allegations that dam removal in Spain caused the October floods in Valencia, it was actually the result of policies aimed at environmental conservation and sustainability, supposedly driven by the European Union (1, 2, 3). The posts were signed by the author, but we couldn’t find the mentioned post on his Facebook profile.

Bob Djukic
(…)
In Spain alone, which is a world record-holder in dismantling previously constructed dams, 108 dams were removed – nearly a quarter of all removed European dams – almost 40 of which were in the immediate vicinity of Valencia, the city severely impacted by recent catastrophic floods, now practically destroyed to its foundations.
(…)
The so-called wise policies of global elitists and power-holders who have little knowledge of tectonic and climatic sustainability, but are willing to preach endlessly about preserving and sustaining human life, have now led to the complete destruction of a vast European metropolis and one of the centers of European culture, resulting in the tragic death of over 250 innocent people. Someone in Brussels truly should be held accountable for this.
(…)
The same institution (European Union) that joyfully oversaw the suicide of the Spanish nation is now advising Serbia to embark on aggressive lithium self-destruction.

We found dozens of Facebook posts with these claims.

What are the Facts?

In the October floods that hit Spain, 224 people lost their lives in Valencia, Castilla-La Mancha, and Andalusia. This natural disaster sparked various disinformation, and we’ve written about the inaccurate interpretations of the causes of floods in Spain in one of our previous analyses.

The claim that dam removal led to catastrophic flood consequences, along with the map of allegedly removed dams, was shared on November 2nd on the social media platform X, from where it was taken and translated into our language, as indicated by the profile name at the beginning of the Facebook post.

Photo: Original post with claims and map showing the impact of removed dams on floods

Fact-checking web portals such as Logically Facts, AFP Provera Cinjenica, Maldita, Reuters and others have analyzed the claims that dam removal near Valencia caused floods in the city, as well as the map presented in such posts showing removed dams.

The Logically Facts article notes that the map in the posts does not show removed dams near Valencia, but rather matches a map of existing smaller dams visible on the Amber Barrier Atlas project page focused on river connectivity and ecosystem restoration. Analyzing the map legend reveals that the blue dots shown in social media posts correspond to small structures that raise water levels or redirect flow. It’s important to note that all barriers displayed on the map are present and functional, not removed or destroyed.

Photo: While posts claim the map shows removed dams (left), the map actually displays existing smaller dams and river barriers near Valencia (right). / Source: Amber Barrier Atlas

According to the interactive map of removed dams created by the movement advocating for river restoration in Europe, Dam Removal Europe, it shows that six dams were removed near Valencia up until 2017. Five Algoder dams were removed in 2006, and the Corindón dam was removed in 2017. After 2017, there have been no further dam removals in the vicinity of the city.

The data showing the removal of 108 dams in Spain is from 2021. According to a report by Dam Removal Europe, Spain led in the number of dams removed in the EU that year. Restoring at least 25,000 km of rivers to their natural, free-flowing state was highlighted as a key element of the European Union’s Biodiversity Strategy for 2030. The initiative for dam removal primarily targets outdated artificial barriers that can pose risks to human lives.

Eva Hernandez, the head of the “Living European Rivers” initiative for the World Wildlife Fund, confirmed to Logically Facts that “no dams were dismantled in or around flooded areas; only seven small barriers were removed in compliance with the law”. Hernandez further emphasized that “barriers, whether present or not, do not have any impact on such extreme flooding”.

The Spanish Ministry for Ecological Transition (MITECO) also provided similar information to AFP. From the Ministry’s Public Relations Service, it was stated that no dams or reservoirs used for flood protection have been demolished in Spain since 2000.

Only small dams or barriers of a few meters, no longer in use, were removed. Near Valencia, only the Corindon barrier on the Turia River and small dams (Algoder 1-4) on the Rambla de L’Algoder were dismantled since 2000 – that is in 2017 and 2006.

In a previous analysis conducted by Raskrinkavanje regarding disinformation about the floods in Valencia, meteorologists explained that the extreme weather leading to devastating floods is known in Spain as DANA. 

This phenomenon occurs when cold air mixes with warm air, creating dense clouds that can remain over the same area for hours, increasing their destructive power. This often leads to severe storms with hail and even tornadoes, as seen last week, said meteorologists.

The claims analyzed in these posts promote the narrative that dam removal is part of an agenda by the World Economic Forum, the European Union, or the UN with allegedly unjustified biodiversity goals at the expense of people’s lives. Such narratives are evidently used to promote conspiracy theories about a sinister plan by elites against the interests of the public, as well as to popularize climate change denial theories.

In several analyses, we have written about conspiracy theories linking the World Economic Forum and UN sustainable development plans with alleged orders and policies for combating climate change, which deny the existence of a climate crisis (1, 2, 3).

Therefore, the earliest post published in our language stating that the floods in Valencia occurred due to dam removal, supposedly proven by a map of allegedly removed dams, is rated as fake news. All other posts with this claim are assessed as the distribution of fake news. All posts also receive a conspiracy theory rating due to the association of river barrier removal projects with alleged elitist agendas harming the population.

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