Spain announces €10.6 billion aid package for flood-hit areas

The Spanish Official State Gazette published on Thursday the declaration of Valencia and other affected areas as a disaster zone, following the decision of the country’s Council of Ministers earlier this week. The aid package is aimed at alleviating personal and material damage to homes and household goods, local businesses, and industrial, commercial, and service establishments.

Under the aid plan, the government will cover 100 percent of the immediate costs incurred by the affected municipalities and up to 50 percent of all work to be carried out in the coming months and years to repair infrastructure, facilities, and services such as roads, sports, and community centers.

The Second Vice-President and Minister of Labour, Yolanda Diaz, announced on Thursday that 1,923 workers in Valencia are already covered by temporary redundancy plans (ERTE) following the floods. In the first days after the disaster, between 45,000 and 50,000 volunteers travelled to the devastated areas of Valencia to bring food and help with the clean-up, according to data collected by the University of Valencia.

Food and necessities have been sent from all over Spain through 1,000 collection points across the country, while informal solidarity initiatives are helping the authorities search for missing people or coordinate volunteers. More than 500 architects have signed up to work with local councils and the Valencian regional government to carry out free inspections of damaged buildings in more than a dozen municipalities. The provisional death toll from the flash floods stood at 219 on Thursday, while authorities reported 93 missing, with 53 bodies still unidentified.