A large envelope. A week after the dramatic floods which ravaged the south-east of Spain, the Spanish government unveiled this Tuesday, November 5, 2024, an aid plan of 10.6 billion euros for tens of thousands of inhabitants and affected companies, reports theAFP.
According to reports provided by national and regional authorities, 219 people died in the floods. “The joint offices of the scientific police and security forces count 89 cases of missing persons”also announced Tuesday evening the higher court of justice of the Valencia region on the social network X. This is the first time that the authorities have given a figure for missing people. Among them are two Chinese, two Romanians, an Ecuadorian and three British.
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Faced with the scale of the disaster, the government will activate “direct aid for affected citizens and businesses, as we did during the pandemic, with as little paperwork as possible and as quickly as possible”declared Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez during a press conference, following the Council of Ministers. “What citizens want is to see their institutions not fighting among themselves, but working side by side”he insisted, while the executive and the government of Valencia, the region most affected by the floods, are the subject of strong criticism for their management of the disaster.
“Climate change kills”
Assuring that the government was on the side of those affected, Pedro Sánchez announced direct aid for 30,000 businesses and 65,000 self-employed workers. He also specified that the State would cover 100% of urgent expenses incurred by municipalities to help their citizens and clear the streets. “The total investment of all these first measures” will exceed the “10.6 billion euros”indicated the Spanish Prime Minister, specifying that he had “formally requested” in Brussels with help from the European Solidarity Fund.
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“There are still people to be located, homes and businesses are destroyed, buried in mud”he recalled, castigating in passing the “irresponsible speeches” climate skeptics, in view of the disaster which affected the region. “Climate change kills”he insisted.
15,000 soldiers and police deployed
According to the executive, electricity was restored on Tuesday in “98% of households” et « 68 % » damaged telephone lines were repaired. In addition, 40 kilometers of roads and 74 kilometers of railways were repaired. But the situation remains complicated on the ground, with streets still clogged with vehicles.
Authorities continue to inspect underground parking lots, many of which have been completely flooded. In recent days, the personnel of the Military Emergency Unit (UME), which responds to natural disasters, have also installed numerous pumps to begin evacuating water.
Read also: IN PICTURES. Floods in Spain: searches continue in car parks around Valencia
In total, nearly 15,000 soldiers and police officers are deployed on the ground, according to the executive, which specifies that this number has doubled in three days. A deployment still considered insufficient by part of the population. This exasperation gave rise on Sunday, November 3, to an explosion of anger against the King of Spain, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and the President of the Valencia region Carlos Mazón, targeted by jets of mud and objects during a visit to Paiporta, a town considered the epicenter of the tragedy.
