During CECOD meeting to address Storm Filomena

President of the Government calls for coordination and cooperation in response to storm

President's News - 2021.1.10

On Sunday morning, the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, chaired the meeting of the State Coordination and Management Committee (Spanish acronym: CECOD) of the national Civil Protection system - the body that coordinates the actions of the departments involved in the monitoring and response to the meteorological situation that is affecting the country, at which he underlined the need for cooperation and coordination to act with the greatest efficacy given the situation.

Pedro Sánchez received detailed information on the situation caused by Storm Filomena, together with the forecasts for the coming days, at the meeting held at the Ministry of Home Affairs, where he was accompanied by the Minister for Home Affairs, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, and the Minister for Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda, José Luis Ábalos.

Since the start of the storm, President of the Government Sánchez has been conveying to the regional presidents and local leaders of the worst affected areas that the main common goal is the utmost coordination between public authorities as a key tool to offering a response to the effects of the storm.

Although the President of the Government saw a significant improvement in the state of the roads on Sunday compared with Saturday, he was also informed that Madrid Barajas Adolfo Suarez Airport had suspended its operations, together with all trains to and from Madrid. Both Madrid Airport and RENFE and ADIF will assess over the course of Sunday the outlook for the gradual resumption of their respective services, according to the situation of their infrastructures.

The State Coordination and Management Committee (CECOD) is the central management body under the new General State Emergencies Plan (Spanish acronym: PLEGEM), precisely approved on 15 December to optimise the responses from public authorities to Civil Protection emergencies. Within the framework of this Plan, and in light of the meteorological situation and forecasts, the Ministry of Home Affairs declared a pre-emergency phase under operational situation 1 on Thursday.

The Ministers for Home Affairs and for Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda were accompanied at the CECOD by their respective teams by video-conference, including those responsible for Civil Protection, the Directorate-General of Traffic, the Traffic Division of the Guardia Civil, Citizen Security, Highway Infrastructures, ADIF, AENA, Defence Policy, the Emergency Military Unit, the State Meteorological Agency (AEMET) and the National Security Department.

Non official translation

Pool Moncloa/Fernando Calvo