A life in a photo: saving memories for Valencia's flood victims

STORY: These photo restorers are saving memories for people who lost everything in Spain's deadly floods last month. It's an initiative called "Save the pictures". Marisa Vazquez, head of Heritage at Valencia University, told Reuters they aim to safeguard the photographic heritage of local communities.“When the victims of the floods call or email us, they tell us they are very thankful because many of them have lost everything, but these are photographs of their grandparents, birthday parties. They are family memories.”Forty-four year-old Ana Piedra Carbonell turned to the photo restoration team for help.She saved a photograph from her mother's house two weeks ago, after floodwaters swept through it.The picture shows a happy childhood moment of her with her mother, sister and father, before he died aged 36.Furniture, appliances, everything else can be replaced, she says. But the emotional value of the pictures is immeasurable.Now the team aims to register, restore and return damaged photos, but faces the challenge that many are stuck together. The sheer quantity is an issue too, with one person needing a wheelbarrow to bring in all their images. In late October, more than 220 people were killed as floods ripped through the suburbs of Valencia.Many people lost many if not all of their possessions.But thanks to the restorers, those who use their services are able to hold on to memories of the past, photographs of happier times before the flood.

STORY: These photo restorers are saving memories for people who lost everything in Spain's deadly floods last month. It's an initiative called "Save the pictures". Marisa Vazquez, head of Heritage at Valencia University, told Reuters they aim to safeguard the photographic heritage of local communities.

“When the victims of the floods call or email us, they tell us they are very thankful because many of them have lost everything, but these are photographs of their grandparents, birthday parties. They are family memories.” Forty-four year-old Ana Piedra Carbonell turned to the photo restoration team for help.

She saved a photograph from her mother's house two weeks ago, after floodwaters swept through it. The picture shows a happy childhood moment of her with her mother, sister and father, before he died aged 36. Furniture, appliances, everything else can be replaced, she says.

But the emotional value of the pictures is immeasurable. Now the team aims to register, restore and return damaged photos, but faces the challenge that many are stuck together. The sheer quantity is an issue too, with one person needing a wheelbarrow to bring in all their images.

In late October, more than 220 people were killed as floods ripped through the suburbs of Valencia. Many people lost many if not all of their possessions. But thanks to the restorers, those who use their services are able to hold on to memories of the past, photographs of happier times before the flood.

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