A severe storm episode tracked across Valenciana this weekend and into Sunday, bringing a yellow alert along the entire Valencia coast. The weather upheaval has created widespread disruption and danger. The most tragic incident occurred in Calpe, where a local officer lost his life while attempting to rescue a person trapped in a vehicle drifting toward the river. The deceased officer, Manuel Policarpo, aged 49, leaves behind two children and comes from a well known family in Calp. [Source: local authorities and emergency services]
Calp City Hall stated that police received a warning about a vehicle stalled in traffic around 2 a.m. in the Empedrola urbanization on a road running parallel to the river bank within the Benissa municipality. [Source: Calp Town Hall communications]
Officials noted that Calp officers should not have needed to travel to the emergency room position, as the location lies on the border of Calp but sits within Benissa. However, Benissa police were overwhelmed by the storm, and due to the danger in the area, responding quickly became a shared effort. Two Calp Local Police patrols arrived to find the vehicle submerged by floodwaters with a man inside. It was also observed that a family member of the driver had been moving through the vicinity when he was swept toward the water and rescued by officers. [Source: police briefing]
In the process of attempting to extricate the driver, a Local Police officer slipped and fell into the torrent. He was swept downstream by the strong current and was seen minutes later by rescuers. His body was recovered several hours later, around 6:37 a.m., approximately two kilometers downstream in Calp. [Source: emergency services update]
The stuck vehicle, dragged by the river, managed to eject the driver before being pulled away by the current. The driver was rescued by the local police and subsequently transported to a regional hospital where medical officials reported that injuries were not life-threatening. [Source: hospital press release]
Meteorological agencies reported heavy showers at dawn, with torrential downpours concentrated on the Castelló coast and the north of Alicante. Local rainfall measures reached 88.2 liters per square meter at Serra Gelada near l’Alfàs del Pi, and rainfall surpassed 100 liters per square meter at Benissa and Senija stations in early morning readings. [Source: AEMET rainfall data]