| On Tuesday 30 October, the people of Valencia, Spain, were confronted with the devastating consequences of flooding as the death toll began to rise. On the same day, in Brussels, the European Commission presented a report on strengthening civil and defence preparedness. The stark contrast between the reality on the ground and the recommendations made in former Finnish president Sauli Niinistö's report highlighted the shortcomings of Europe's preparedness for such events. Meanwhile, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said, "What we are seeing is devastating." "This is the dramatic reality of climate change. And we must prepare to deal with it," she added. Niinistö's report advocates a "whole-of-government approach" urging local, regional, national and EU authorities to coordinate effectively, adding it also needs a "whole-of-society approach". This demands governments work hand-in-hand with the private sector, civil society, and individual citizens to foster community-wide resilience. One example of Europe's preparedness challenge is the EU-mandated public alert system, which all member states require under a 2018 EU directive. In Spain, the public alert system - ES-Alert- was not activated in Valencia until late in the evening, long after the flooding had begun and hundreds of people were already at risk. In the densely populated province, home to 2.6 million people, people went about their daily lives unaware of the growing danger. | 
