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 this figure is expected to rise further, with at least 89 people missing in the eastern province of Valencia.
It is the first official figure of the missing released by authorities, after Spanish media reports based on emergency calls suggested the toll could be as high as 2,500 people.
The search for the missing is focusing 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.
Residents there and in other almost completely destroyed villages said more help was needed. A man interviewed by RTVE said there were rats in the streets, while others were crying and ranting.
Paiporta Mayor Maribel Albalat called for “more heavy machinery” and said it was “very difficult to deal with the chaos.”
As the search for more victims continued, concerns arose over whether the €10.6 billion in aid promised by the central government would be enough to deal with the aftermath of the floods.
The regional government of Valencia had demanded aid worth more than 30 billion euros on Monday, an amount roughly equivalent to the region’s entire annual budget.
