The announcement comes amid strong criticism of the government’s lack of action following the disaster. Prime Minister Sánchez says the aid package aims to repair infrastructure and protect the incomes of thousands of people. affected.Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced this Monday (11/11) a further aid package of 3.76 billion euros (23 billion R$) to reinforce the 10.6 billion euros promised last week for cope with the consequences of the devastating flood that hit especially the Valencia region, where the local government was the target of protests and accusations of slowness in responding to the disaster.
Sánchez has faced fierce criticism for his response to the floods, the deadliest in Spain’s modern history, which occurred during an exceptionally strong storm in the Mediterranean Sea on October 29.
The flash floods that followed devastated large areas of the country, especially east of Valencia, and killed at least 222 people. Infrastructure was destroyed and help took days to arrive because warning systems failed to recognize the situation.
Sánchez compared the relief efforts to those carried out during the Covid-19 pandemic and said the government would provide “all the necessary resources for as long as necessary.”
Major recovery effort
“There are still roads to clean, garages to dry out, there are a lot of infrastructures to repair and, above all, many lives, many homes and many businesses to bring back to normal,” the prime minister told the press after the meeting with the his cabinet.
Thousands of soldiers, police officers, firefighters and emergency services workers have been deployed to the hardest-hit regions to contribute to rescue, recovery and reconstruction efforts. Dozens of people are missing.
Sánchez said electricity and telephone service had been restored to nearly all affected homes, but noted that repairs on many roads and rail lines would take much longer. The national railway company Renfe has announced that its high-speed line between Madrid and Valencia is expected to return to operation this Thursday.
In addition to funding rubble removal, the government says its relief package will protect the incomes of around 400,000 workers, speed up access to compensation and add 12 months of mortgage relief to a one-year moratorium on payments announced last week.
Now is not the time to find someone to blame, Sanchez says
Many Spaniards see the government’s response to the floods – at local, state and federal levels – as characterized by poor management before, during and after the disaster. Crowds took to the streets across the region to express their outrage.
The largest demonstration took place in Valencia, where around 130,000 people called for the resignation of Sánchez and the region’s conservative leader, Carlos Mazón. The prime minister, however, ignored the calls, saying his focus is on reconstruction. “Later will come the political debate about what we should improve in the face of this climate emergency,” he said.
RC (AFP, Reuters)
Source: Terra
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