A family’s grief after the Spanish floods

Like every parent in Valencia that day, Victor Matías had quickly changed his plans, fearing what might be in store.

The rain was still thundering, but now – it was late – she was able to leave work early, pick her boys up from nursery safely and make their favorite dinner – croquetas.

Fried rolls of mashed potatoes, filled with cheese and meat, can be a treat for Izan, 5, and Rubén, 3, while their mother Marta finishes her shift working late at the supermarket in town.

We’ve put together a heartbreaking timeline of what happened next.

Our picture comes from the testimony of neighbors and relatives we spoke to, as well as what Victor could remember himself and other first-hand accounts provided by the local media.

The tragic story of the Matías family has caused a lot of attention in Spain. Many followed the updates of “Los niños desaparecidosas” – the missing children – as they were often described.

But the plight of this one family is the plight of many as it is a nightmare repeated in the Valencia region that was hit by floods nearly two weeks ago, killing at least 219 people.

More than 90 are still missing.

When we arrived at the family’s home, a few days after the flood, it was torn apart by the destructive sea.

That alarming figure – a year’s worth of rain has been lost in some areas of Valencia in a few hours – is as easy to believe as it is to accept all this.

Large metal containers – disconnected from their articulated trucks – rested inexplicably among the many cars, crumpled furniture and treacherous mud.

One of the few things still intact was the door to what used to be the boys’ bedroom; The bright, white letters that spell their names stand out in a sea of ​​brown.

Passing by the chaos was Jonathan Perez, their next-door neighbor, who began to recall the terrifying sequence of events. “It was crazy,” he said. “I have never seen such power.”

Jonathan explained to us how this torrent blew away the trucks parked near the Matías house and one of them broke through the outer wall.

He said that Victor had explained to him how he held his sons in his arms as the water pushed them out.

And then despite his best efforts to catch them – they left.

Victor was found about four hours later, more than 200 meters away.

He had been clinging to the tree.

His mother – the boys’ grandmother – revealed that Victor was ready to throw himself into the river and surrender to his fate, but then stopped.

He told himself that he could not leave his wife alone.

For 5-year-old Izan and 3-year-old Rubén, few places felt safer than the playground that was their house and garden.

Their aunt, Barbara Sastre, told us that they were like bugs – “bichetes” – a cute description to describe how they buzzed, that is, when they were sucked into their toys.

“They were very happy children” he told us.

Izan and Rubén’s parents had bought a property from a man named Francisco Javier Arona.

Javi – as he is known – told EFE, the Spanish news agency, that the home has become a “paradise” for the Matías family.

He said that he himself built a house in La Curra, in the area of ​​Mas del Jutge, in colonial style in three years.

Javi said he attached decorative amphoras and soft clay stars under the sweeping arch.

Outside, there was little traffic in the cul-de-sac, which meant the boys could run carelessly without any apparent danger.

The approaching storm circle that was felt on October 29th was very dangerous, so Victor closed his business early and took his boys from daycare to keep them safe and dry at home, as the rain was falling heavily and heavily.

The force of the rain became overwhelming, and soon the power went out.

The grandmother of these brothers, Antonia María Matías, 72 years old, who has cancer, told ABC Sevilla that she called her son Victor around 18:00 and heard the brothers crying.

The water around them was constantly rising. But still, they were safe for now.

It might have been their hideout, but their home was near a truck park.

Jonathan Perez, their next door neighbor, explained to us how this played a fatal role.

He said, “Dad told us that a truck hit the back of the house and the water force took everything.”

“Victor came back and carried the boys in his arms. But then he realized that he didn’t have them anymore. The water took everything in its path,” he explained.

Barbara Sastre, the boy’s aunt told us that at least one truck had opened the house as the boys and their father drifted towards a nearby canyon.

The owner of the parking lot where the undisclosed trucks arrived told another newspaper that they never hit his house. He emphasized that the force of water causes great damage.

Jonathan, the neighbor, covered the burning anger of millions of Spaniards. In particular, the red alert sent to mobile phones arrived at 8pm – too late.

“They were living a life of love and they hadn’t even started to be human, they were three and five years old,” he said.

“With better coordination, better management, and an earlier alarm – even half an hour earlier – those children would not have been saved and those parents would not have gone through hell.”

All the neighbors in La Curra, surprised and disturbed by the violence of the flood, immediately began to search for Izan and Rubén who were missing.

At least they got off when the water receded enough to climb down from the trees and get out of their cars and try to reorient themselves.

They were assisted by the police from nearby Alicante, including Victor’s friend, who arrived immediately and began the search.

But where to start?

Cars, bricks, bed frames had been taken hundreds of meters from where they had stood.

A team of firefighters from Mallorca and Civil Protection volunteers from the island of Ibiza also came and checked the places that are very difficult to reach.

Despite two weeks of intensive daily searches, the brothers have not been found.

Hours before everything changed, Marta – the boys’ mother – had started her late shift at the store, safe in the knowledge that their father would pick them up from school and take them home.

The next morning he was told that his boys were gone.

Relatives say they cannot explain what Martha is going through.

The boy’s grandmother, Antonia María, said her son Victor’s life had been destroyed – in her words “turned to dust”.

As he recovered in hospital, Victor slept with his boys’ pajamas – salvaged from the ruins of their family – resting on his face.

It is the closest to them now.