France will send its first official aid to Spain after the floods in the Valencia region, we explain to you why it took so long.
Two weeks after the deadly floods in Spain, France will send a first official aid. “40 rescuers from military civil security formations and around ten territorial firefighters will be engaged in the coming hours to support the hard-hit population,” announced the Minister of the Interior, Bruno Retailleau.
This evening, Spain requested European solidarity to help it deal with the consequences of last week's tragic floods which affected the Valencia region. France immediately made itself available. As part of the European mechanism for… pic.twitter.com/l6erqSzRWx
— Bruno Retailleau (@BrunoRetailleau) https://twitter.com/BrunoRetailleau/status/1856072331791057030?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
The latest provisional toll is 222 dead, mainly in the Valencia region which is still completely disfigured today by mudslides, and while many vehicles are still piled up on top of each other on the main roads and in the streets. From the first days after the disaster, France said it was ready to send 250 firefighters to help with cleaning and research, aid which was, however, refused by Spain.
Voluntarily or within the framework of associations, French aid was engaged from the first day, but this will be the first official aid provided by France and accepted by Spain, which requested European solidarity. Until then, 12,500 soldiers as well as 10,000 Spanish police and civil guards were deployed for clearing and searching for victims.
New heavy rains arrive in Spain
This aid comes while many people are still missing, and while health risks are worsening day by day in the Valencia region due to the omnipresent mud on every street corner.
And the nightmare is not yet over for the Valencia region, once again placed on yellow alert from Wednesday November 13, 2024. Huge amounts of rain are expected once again, around 100 mm could fall in space of 12 hours in these sectors already badly damaged by flooding and considered vulnerable. The Balearic region is placed on orange alert.
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