The ES-Alert in Vendrell warns 5 counties: precaution or overreaction?

The residents of El Vendrell understand the ES-Alert because it is necessary to warn in the face of a meteorological risk, but some consider that the Government acted too early out of caution. The debate is not so much about the alert itself but about the timing of the restrictions imposed.

The center of El Vendrell continued to be full of activity on Wednesday morning, with shops open, parks crowded, and families trying to juggle the closure of educational centers with the workday. The question, for many, is very specific: was it necessary to take all measures before knowing how the rain would end?

El Vendrell understands the alert but questions the timing

What triggered the ES-Alert in Baix Penedès?

For the residents of El Vendrell, the alert made sense because Civil Protection was warning of a rain episode and asked to avoid non-essential travel. The message also recommended applying telework in all areas where possible.

The warning was sent Tuesday afternoon to five counties, including Baix Penedès. At the same time, educational activities, outdoor sports, and university activities were suspended, while non-essential and non-urgent healthcare activities were also halted.

The general reaction on the street has not been one of outright rejection. Ferran Castro, a resident of La Bisbal del Penedès, defends that alerts are positive, even though it is difficult to always get the forecast right. His view is practical: it is better to warn when there is a risk than to leave the population uninformed.

Why do some residents speak of an excess of caution?

The final meteorological outcome did not meet the most worrying expectations in El Vendrell: the storm discharged out to sea and it did not rain as much as expected. This outcome has fueled the feeling that the Government acted prematurely, especially regarding the closure of educational centers.

Cristina Valverde sees it that way. The resident welcomes the alert being sent, but believes that the government acted out of fear and could have waited until the same day to decide whether to close schools based on the actual situation.

Víctor Corredor expresses it more harshly. He recalls that on August 22 there were downpours with two deaths and no ES-Alert was sent. Therefore, he finds it contradictory that now they warn with a less intense rain forecast and accuses the authorities of playing it safe.

Here lies the core of the debate: it is not only whether the alert was understandable but whether the criteria applied are the same when the risk ends up being more severe than anticipated or when the forecast falls short.

Five counties warned and El Vendrell full of people

How did the citizens experience the morning?

The situation matters especially to the residents of Baix Penedès because the announced restrictions contrasted with an everyday scene in the center of El Vendrell. The streets, shops, and parks were full of people during the morning, while many people went about normal life.

The contrast was also visible in children’s areas. Valverde went down to the park with her grandchildren and found quite a few children playing. The image did not match the idea of a completely stopped day, but it did reflect a very specific difficulty: what do families do when schools close and adults have to go to work?

Santi Ortega, who went out for a walk, agrees with the need to prevent. His position is that it is better to protect oneself, even if sometimes they get it right and other times not. In this phrase there is a resigned acceptance of the alert system: the forecast is not perfect, but the decision also cannot be made once the water has arrived.

What rainfall data was recorded in the area?

At one o’clock in the afternoon, the municipality in Baix Penedès that had accumulated the most precipitation with official records was Cunit, with 21.1 millimeters. The storm, however, had ended up discharging out to sea and activity in the streets of El Vendrell continued.

The data helps to understand why the message generated different interpretations. **21.1 millimeters in Cunit** is concrete information, but it alone does not explain the scope of the restrictions applied to the five counties. The population receives the same preventive warning and then compares what they experienced with what was announced.

• Alert: rain episode and recommendation to avoid non-essential travel.
• Scope: five counties, with Baix Penedès among the included areas.
• Notable record: 21.1 millimeters accumulated in Cunit at one o’clock in the afternoon.
• Activities suspended: educational, outdoor sports, and university activities.

For readers in El Vendrell, this difference between the message and the experienced reality is what creates doubt. Not because they reject prevention, but because they want to know what threshold activates each measure and whether decisions can be better tailored to each municipality.

Families caught between prevention and routine

How does the school closure affect families?

The main discomfort in El Vendrell stems from family organization. When schools close, many families have to find an immediate alternative for the children, even if the rain is not heavy enough to prevent life outdoors.

Valverde explains this from her position as a grandmother. If her daughter works, she wonders what she should do with the children. The children-filled park shows that the problem is not theoretical: families have to solve it during the same morning.

The resident describes the situation as complicated and believes the schools could have remained open until seeing how the weather evolved. Her criticism does not deny the alert; it points directly to the consequences of applying a general restriction before verifying the actual scope of the storm.

What do residents ask of the authorities?

Víctor Corredor demands that the authorities be very precise. The request has a local reading: when a measure affects five counties, it also affects schedules, jobs, travel, and people who have no one to leave their children with.

However, most residents consulted do not ask to eliminate alerts. Ferran Castro defends that it is always good to protect, and Santi Ortega summarizes his position with a familiar idea: it is better to prevent than to cure.

The memory of the downpours of August 22 weighs on the conversation. That episode left two dead and was not accompanied by an ES-Alert. After that case, the residents assume that the authorities’ caution has increased; the problem is that this caution can seem excessive when the storm ends up moving out to sea.

The dana in the Valencian Country has also been a turning point for the citizenry, according to testimonies collected in El Vendrell. Now everyone is more attentive and any meteorological warning is taken more seriously. Memory weighs, even when the sky finally gives a reprieve.

The case leaves a very concrete lesson for Baix Penedès: the ES-Alert is understood as a necessary tool, but trust depends on how decisions are explained and whether the restrictions fit the risk at each moment. The residents of El Vendrell accept that prevention is necessary; what they ask is that the criteria be precise enough not to turn every alert into a family problem.

Source of the article: Editorial / Catalan News Agency