Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced on Monday fresh measures worth almost €3.8 billion to help stricken citizens recover from the country’s worst floods in a generation that have now killed 222 people.
But Sánchez postponed any political debate about the disaster, after tens of thousands of protesters demanded accountability over the weekend, saying that it must follow the recovery. ALSO READ: Over 130,000 march in Valencia to protest handling of deadly floods.
The exceptional Mediterranean storm that lashed Spain two weeks ago particularly devastated the wealthy eastern Valencia region, which has suffered most of the deaths and destruction. ALSO READ: Search for those still missing after floods also moves to Valencia coastline.
The torrents of muddy water wrecked roads and railways, tossed cars, gutted shops and submerged fields, with the final bill expected to soar to tens of billions of euros.
Sánchez on Monday unveiled a second aid package worth €3.76 billion to reinforce aid worth €10.6 billion announced last week. ALSO READ: Destruction caused by Valencia floods to cost state and insurance sector over €10 billion.
Compensation will be streamlined and extended to cover more residents and property, while farmers will also receive fresh aid totalling €200 million, the socialist (PSOE) prime minister told a news conference.
Sánchez has compared the measures to the state’s intervention to prop up the economy during the Covid-19 crisis.
The government ‘will be there with all the necessary resources and for as long as it takes’, he said.
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