Member's statement: Flooding: Valencia
Member's statement by Mr Gerry Carroll on .
- MLA
- Mr Gerry Carroll
- Party at the time
- People Before Profit Alliance
- Date
- 5 November 2024
- Type
- Member's statement
- Business
- Members' Statements
- Heading
- Flooding: Valencia
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 4631491
Read the official Assembly record
Text
The horrifying scenes that are coming out of Valencia and the wider region, where people are fleeing for their lives after flash floods have occurred, are a glimpse into our future if Governments do not act to prevent climate change. I want to express my heartfelt sympathy to and solidarity with the families of the, at least, 214 people who have been killed. People should not be killed because of bad weather. It is not solely the weather that has created so many casualties but the Spanish Government's refusal to act quickly or to properly invest in flood prevention and other protective measures. That has effectively ensured that hundreds of people have died when there should not have been a single casualty. The Spanish state has blood on its hands. There is no doubt that the extreme weather is directly connected to climate change. Warmer air holds more rain and, combined with the higher temperature of the Mediterranean Sea, it has created extreme weather patterns. In particular, we also have to criticise the role of the conservative party in Valencia, whose president abolished Valencia Emergency Unit, which was designed to help prevent and tackle wildfires and floods. I join the calls of many in the region to say, Mazón, dimisión.
Whilst there were warnings about the weather becoming more extreme last week, the Government refused to act. They refused to close schools or to tell people not to go to work, which was, in effect, a death sentence for so many. They said that the economy is not to be touched, and they said that it was business as usual. Really, what we have seen is a combination of neoliberal capitalism and climate denial leading to the deaths of hundreds of people. That is an absolute tragedy, but a preventable one. Whilst billionaires stayed at home, workers had to traverse treacherous weather conditions. Given the disgraceful role of the state in Spain, I want to pay tribute to and recognise the role of all those volunteers and activists who helped out, who pulled bodies out from under cars and rubble and who have provided safety and refuge. What happened was an absolute tragedy: it was horrific and apocalyptic but, unfortunately, it will become the norm if Governments here do not act swiftly to prevent climate change.
386 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Jev’s structured answers met the documented threshold for “not flagged”.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.06 (flagging needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not flagged).
- None of the five culture-war criteria was met (each was below 0.60).
- No identity-based framing was identified (0.99).
- The overall probability was at or below the not-flagging threshold.
This is an AI-generated assessment of the text, made against published criteria. It is not a finding of fact about the MLA or their intentions. The Assembly record itself is the fact.
Jev’s structured answers
| Question | Probability | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity framing | 0.06 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.05 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.01 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.08 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.06 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.57 | No |
| Overall judgement | 0.06 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 0.99 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.00 |
| Adopts it | 0.01 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-related subject | 0.90 |
| Sexism, misogyny, ageism and other equality groups | 0.05 |
| Gender, sexuality, abortion and related social issues | 0.03 |
| Another identity-related subject | 0.02 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 11:30 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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