The president of Spanish footwear federation FICE, Rosana Perán, has said colleagues from across Europe had been in touch immediately to offer sympathy and solidarity after the recent floods in Valencia and other parts of Spain. Report by Leatherbiz.

An important footwear- and leather-manufacturing region, Valencia was hit by devastating floods at the end of October. By the end of the first week in November, the authorities had confirmed more than 200 fatalities with another 90 people still missing.

Speaking on regional television on November 4, Rosana Perán, who is also the current president of European footwear industry association CEC, said colleagues from national industry bodies across Europe had been in touch as soon as news of the disaster broke. She said they had offered sympathy and support.

Companies from the Valencia region and from other parts of Spain also offered help right away, donating footwear and money to help search-and-rescue operations. Ms Perán said FICE had worked closely with the Valencia region’s footwear industry association, Avecal, to work out the best way to send the most urgently needed material to the worst-affected areas.

Among the products most in demand in the aftermath of the floods were rubber boots. The FICE president said a manufacturer in Portugal had immediately sent more than 1,000 pairs and that local companies had searched through their storage areas to collect as many pairs as they could from their stocks. “We all wanted to send what we could as quickly as possible,” Ms Perán said, “but we knew it was important to prioritise the things that are needed right now.”

She explained that footwear industry leaders were no different from everyone else in the region and pointed out that almost everyone had family and friends in some of the worst-affected areas.

In the case of her family company, Pikolinos, she said the manager of one its stores in the city of Valencia had been cut off at home for three days. The shop manager’s home is in Paiporta, a town on the outskirts of the city. More than 70 of the victims were from the town.

“Our hearts were in our mouths for those three days when we were unable to reach our colleague,” Ms Perán said. “When we go through to her, we found out that she had been cut off at home with her children and that they had run out of food and drinking water.”

It was early November before volunteers were allowed to make their way into Paiporta to help. But they were only able to do so on foot because many streets in the town were still flooded or covered in mud. “Two very brave members of the Pikolinos team went as soon as it was possible to do so,” Ms Perán said, “and were able to walk to our colleague’s house and give her food and other supplies.”

She said the people of the region had “a special DNA and a special charisma” and expressed confidence that they would be able to rebuild their communities and their lives.