France deploys 50-member rescue team to flood-stricken Valencia in Spain

RFI

12 November 2024 at 5:17 am·1-min read

A man stands next to vehicles damaged in deadly floods in Catarroja, Valencia, Spain, 11 November 2024.

France has sent a 50-member rescue team to the Valence region of Spain, which is struggling to recover from catastrophic flooding that killed at least 222 people at the end of October.

France's Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau announced the team's deployment under the European civil protection mechanism, after a request made by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.

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.

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.

Sanchez on Monday unveiled a second aid package worth 3.76 billion euros ($4 billion) to reinforce aid worth 10.6 billion euros announced last week.

Compensation will be streamlined and extended to cover more residents and property, while farmers will also receive fresh aid totalling €200 million, the left-wing premier told a news conference.

As long as it takes

Sanchez 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.

But the government said it was focused on reconstruction.

(with AFP)

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As long as it takes

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