Spain pledges 10.6B euros in loans, grants as flood toll rises in Valencia

Spain has earmarked 10.6 billion euros ($11.55 billion) in loans and grants to help the victims of the flash floods that hit the eastern coast of the country around Valencia last week, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Tuesday.

Sanchez said the government plans to spend as much as 838 million euros in direct cash handouts to people affected by the floods that left 217 dead last week in the worst such disaster in Spain’s modern history.

The government’s credit agency ICO will guarantee as much as 5 billion euros in loans to small and medium companies, self-employed people and families to finance reconstruction efforts.

More from World

Nepal's new PM pays homage to people died during the Gen Z protest in her first national address This Week in Explainers: How recovering from Gen-Z protests is a Himalayan task for Nepal

Further funds will be dedicated to providing those affected with tax and benefit payment holidays, as well as payments for replacement of property and repairs to roads and railways.

The government has deployed 14,898 police officers and soldiers in the areas hit by flash floods, he added. He also said that 14,898 police officers and soldiers have been deployed in the areas hit by flash floods last week.

At least 218 have been confirmed dead after a deluge caused by heavy rains late on Oct. 29 and the next morning swamped entire communities, mostly in Spain’s Valencia region, catching most off guard. Regional authorities have been heavily criticized for having issued alerts to mobile phones some two hours after the disaster had started.

Impact Shorts

More Shorts

‘The cries of this widow will echo’: In first public remarks, Erika Kirk warns Charlie’s killers they’ve ‘unleashed a fire’

Trump urges Nato to back sanctions on Russia, calls for 50–100% tariffs on China

Authorities have yet to any give an estimate of the missing seven days on. Spanish state broadcaster RTVE, however, shows a steady stream of appeals by people who are searching for family members who are not accounted for.

Street after street in town after town is still covered with thick brown mud and mounds of ruined belongings, clumps of rotting vegetation, and wrecked vehicles. A stench arises from the muck.

In many places, people still face shortages of basic goods, and lines form at impromptu emergency kitchens and stands handing out food. Water is running again but authorities say it is not fit for drinking.

The ground floors of thousands of homes have been ruined. It is feared that inside some of the vehicles that the water washed away or trapped in underground garages there could be bodies waiting to be recovered.

Thousands of soldiers are working with firefighters and police reinforcements in the immense emergency response. Officers and troops are searching in destroyed homes, the countless cars strewn across highways, streets, or lodged in the mud in canals and gorges.

Authorities are worried about other health problems caused by the aftermath of the deadliest natural disaster in Spain’s recent history. They have urged people to get tetanus shots and to treat any wounds to prevent infections and to clean the mud from their skin. Many people wear face masks.

Thousands of volunteers are helping out, filling the void left by authorities. But the frustration over the crisis management boiled over on Sunday when a crowd in hard-hit Paiporta hurled mud and other objects at Spain’s royals, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and regional officials when they made their first visit to the epicenter of the flood damage.

Sánchez’s national government is set to announce a new package of relief on Tuesday.

With inputs from agencies.