By Lucia Sacerdoti
TAMPA, Fla. –– Spain has suffered its deadliest natural disaster of the century, which has impacted many of its citizens, including some students at The University of Tampa who have to relive it far away from home.
Salvador Ribera, an MBA student at UTampa, is from Valencia, Spain, which was the hardest hit region of the flash flooding.
“I have lots of friends who are there at the moment helping out and trying to find people who are missing,” said Ribera.
The graduate student explained how the police wanted to help, but the government would not let them go help.
By the time the state emergency alert for the flooding was announced at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 29, it was too late for citizens in the area to evacuate, and some homes were already filling with rushing flood water.
“My family is okay, thankfully, but we haven’t heard from people I know since the flooding happened,” said Ribera. “There has been a lot of stealing. The little town close to the water is a complete war zone.”
Ribera also said he heard from people back home that people are stealing from each other to survive: “There is no food, no water, no help.”
Pedro Sánchez, the prime minister of Spain, has been criticized for the actions that were taken surrounding the events of the disaster. Mud was thrown at the king and queen of Spain as they traveled to the small towns to show support to those who had lost everything.
“A flood like this hasn’t happened since the 1900s,” said Ribera. “With the technology we have now, we should’ve known this could happen. It was a completely normal day, people went to work, and out of nowhere, their cars were floating in water.”
Ribera said he knows a lot of students at UTampa who are from Spain but not specifically from Valencia, so they reached out to him to ask how they can help, donate, and be there for their country. Ribera is very aware of the situation in his country and how the government is not helping the people who need it, in his opinion.
“It’s been a week already since the flooding, and I hope the people of my country can recover from this,” said Ribera.
Support is available for international students at UTampa, including Spanish students.
“At UTampa, we have 29 students with student visas and Spanish citizenship,” said Henry Heredia, the associate director of International Programs. “We have several resources available to support their mental health, such as the 24/7 Spartan support line, and we work with the Office of Student Care and Advocacy and the Wellness Center to provide extra support to those who need it. Additionally, our office provides support to students of many nationalities whose countries are also experiencing major natural disasters right now, such as the Czech Republic, Poland, Romania, Bosnia, Senegal, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and the Philippines.”
The faculty and staff at UTampa are incredibly involved with their students when it comes to supporting them through tough times and making them feel at home.
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People of the province of Valencia, Spain, wade through the floodwater in their streets. Photo courtesy of NPR Spanish News.