Reinforcements are impatiently awaited in certain localities still facing a chaotic situation.
The Spanish government announced this Saturday, November 2, the sending of 10,000 additional soldiers and police officers to the south-east of Spain in order to come to the aid of the victims and help in the search for the missing, four days after the tragic floods which left at least 211 dead.
In total, “5,000 more soldiers” will be deployed on the ground, including 4,000 “today” and a thousand “tomorrow morning”, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced in a statement from the Palace of Justice. Moncloa, his official residence.
This figure brings to 7,500 the number of soldiers mobilized in the disaster areas, i.e. the “largest deployment of armed forces ever carried out in Spain in peacetime”, insisted the head of government, who will visit the affected areas on Sunday with King Felipe VI.
To these soldiers will be added 5,000 police officers and gendarmes, responsible for supporting their 5,000 colleagues already on the ground, according to Mr. Sánchez. Reinforcements eagerly awaited in certain localities still facing a chaotic situation.
“There is nothing left”
The bad weather “caused the greatest natural disaster in the recent history of our country”, insisted the Prime Minister, ensuring that the toll from the floods was now “211 dead”.
The latest figures from the emergency services, given on Friday evening, showed at least 207 victims, including 204 in the Valencia region, two in Castile-la-Mancha and one in Andalusia. A toll which could increase according to the authorities.
According to emergency data, 1,900 people have been reported missing but it is very difficult to confirm this figure which corresponds to calls to 112 from people looking for their loved ones.
In the suburbs of Valencia, search and cleaning operations continued throughout the day, in a heavy atmosphere. “There is nothing left,” Mario Silvestre, a resident of Chiva who was “resigned” to seeing the damage, told AFP.
In his commune, where some 17,000 inhabitants live, there are no soldiers, but gendarmes responsible for patrolling the streets, where many houses are destroyed. “Politicians promise a lot but help only arrives when it arrives,” breathes this octogenarian.
Solidarity
Speaking at a press conference on Saturday evening, the president of the Valencia region, Carlos Mazón, announced a battery of economic aid and the return of order, while acts of looting were reported in several stores, leading to the arrest of 82 people.
“There are people who may have felt alone, helpless, unprotected and I understand that,” admitted the elected official. But “I want to send a clear message: we are going to help all the households” who need it. Continuing: “We are facing the challenge of our lives and we are going to find the solutions.”
The regional government of Valencia, and Carlos Mazon in particular, is the subject of insistent criticism for having sent a late telephone alert message to residents on Tuesday, while Aemet had placed the region on “red alert” from the morning .
Criticisms rejected by Mr. Mazon, who ensures that he followed the protocol in force and highlighted “the spirit of solidarity of the population” of his region in the face of adversity.
In the affected communities, the outpouring of solidarity continued on Saturday, particularly in the southern suburbs of Valence, where thousands of people flocked on foot in the morning with shovels and brooms to support the population.
On Friday, the number of volunteers was such that the authorities called on residents to stay at home and banned traffic on certain roads to prevent the roads used by emergency services from being congested.
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