The worst storm of the century has caused losses exceeding €1.09 billion ($1.17 billion) in the Valencian agricultural sector, according to initial estimates by the Valencian Association of Farmers (AVA-ASAJA).

The damage is described as catastrophic, affecting crops, plantations, agricultural infrastructure, machinery, vehicles, livestock farms, and nurseries. Landslides have even caused entire fields to disappear, the organization reported.

AVA-ASAJA estimates that damages to unharvested agricultural crops total €278 million ($299 million), with citrus being the hardest hit at €192 million ($206 million), followed by persimmons (€54 million or $58 million), vegetables (€24.8 million or $27 million), and avocados (€7.2 million or $7.7 million). Many of these crops were in the midst of their harvesting season, particularly early varieties of mandarins and persimmons.

Even more significant are losses in agricultural infrastructure, estimated at €486 million ($523 million). This includes €260 million ($280 million) in rural roads, €120 million ($129 million) in irrigation infrastructure (such as ponds, main pipes, and wells), €15 million ($16 million) in greenhouses, €54 million ($58 million) in plots with localized irrigation, €25 million ($27 million) in rural buildings, and €12 million ($13 million) in walls, fences, and enclosures.

Damage to plots due to root asphyxia, which will require replanting to sustain agricultural activity, amounts to €85.5 million ($92 million). Similarly, plots eroded by floodwaters, necessitating conditioning and replanting, face damages totaling €59.4 million ($64 million).

Losses in machinery and agricultural vehicles due to the DANA total €10 million ($11 million). Livestock facilities have also sustained significant damage, with losses surpassing €20.5 million ($22 million).

The Professional Association of Flowers, Plants, and Horticultural Technology of the Valencian Community (ASFPLANT), an entity associated with AVA-ASAJA, reports additional losses of €150 million ($161 million) due to the destruction of ornamental plants, infrastructure, equipment, and green sector facilities.

Torrential rains, combined with overflowing rivers and ravines, hail, and hurricane-force winds—some forming tornadoes—have affected 33,728 hectares of agricultural land across nine regions of Valencia, AVA-ASAJA detailed.

The hardest-hit regions include La Ribera Alta (10,866 ha), L'Horta Sud (5,394 ha), La Ribera Baixa (5,128 ha), Utiel-Requena (5,007 ha), and La Hoya de Buñol (2,403 ha). Other affected areas are Camp de Túria (1,865 ha), Los Serranos (1,549 ha), Valencia (1,417 ha), and La Safor (99 ha).

For unharvested crops, the affected area totals 21,137 hectares: 15,908 ha of citrus, 3,327 ha of persimmons, 1,149 ha of vegetables, 603 ha of ornamental plants and nurseries, and 150 ha of avocados.

Rainfed crops such as cereals, wine grapes, almonds, carob, and olives had mostly already been harvested. In irrigated crops, harvested products include fruit trees, summer vegetables, and rice. However, there are concerns about the adverse impact of flooding on the rice sector, particularly the potential accumulation of waste in the Albufera natural park.

AVA-ASAJA reported that many plots were completely flooded, resulting in not only crop loss but also potential damage to tree crops from root asphyxia, which may require uprooting the trees. For flooded vegetables, losses are total. Additionally, with many access roads to farms destroyed, some produce yet to be harvested may not reach the market.