Spain will distribute €10.6 billion ($11.5 billion) in aid to those affected by the devastating flash floods that killed more than 200 people and caused widespread damage in the country’s east last week, Prime Minister Pedro said Sanchez Tuesday.
The aid package, which includes direct payments to households and businesses, was “just a first step,” Sánchez said.
A week after the historic floods, large parts of the more than 60 affected municipalities in the eastern region of Valencia remain devastated and roads blocked, despite clean-up efforts moving into high gear.
Garbage, broken furniture and piled-up cars were everywhere in images broadcast by public broadcaster RTVE and other media.
The official death toll from the floods was revised slightly downwards on Tuesday, from 217 to 215, with the vast majority dying in the Valencia region.
However, authorities warn that this figure is expected to rise further as many people continue to be reported missing.
The search for it focuses on underground parking garages and other flooded underground facilities such as tunnels and passageways.
Authorities fear that some victims may have washed up in estuaries or in the Mediterranean Sea, broadcaster RTVE reported. A Navy amphibious ship has been deployed to support the search and rescue efforts.
“The smell is still very bad here,” said an RTVE reporter in Paiporta, not far from the provincial capital Valencia. Paiporta, home to about 27,000 people, is among the worst affected areas with about 70 deaths.
