Spain’s Valencia region approved €23.5 million in initial aid after Storm Adam flooded communities, offering households and municipalities help with immediate losses as cleanup crews worked across the region.
Under the Oct. 20 package, households can receive €6,000 for damage and lost essentials at a primary home or €3,000 for a second home. Families who lost their primary residence can receive €800 a month for 12 months toward rehousing. Municipalities can receive up to €200,000 for urgent expenses.
Residents in Oliva and Miramar cleared damaged belongings from homes and garages and assessed losses for insurance claims, EFE reported. The regional government said it deployed 271 people and more than 40 heavy machines to clear streets and public spaces. More than 100 technicians were working on damaged wastewater facilities, pumps and electrical equipment.
The Centro de Coordinación de Emergencias logged 2,153 incidents between 7:57 a.m. ET (1:57 p.m. CEST) on Oct. 17 and 5:13 a.m. ET (11:13 a.m. CEST) on Oct. 21. Oliva accounted for 900 of them.
The cleanup follows evacuations in Valencia and Alicante during the storm. In an Oct. 19 update, the Civil Guard reported rescuing 496 people and evacuating 2,141 people.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s office said five people died from the rains. EFE reported four deaths in its lead, but its account described three storm victims and a farmer found dead in the Pego-Oliva marsh whose cause of death was under investigation. The accounts do not reconcile the death counts.
Sánchez said the national government would formally designate affected municipalities for emergency support. His office said it would provide recovery funds and speed public contracting. Valencian President Juanfran Pérez Llorca said the Consell plans to approve another aid package Friday, Oct. 23, covering vehicle losses, agriculture and commerce.
