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Number of people missing in Valencia stands at 89 one week after deadly floods
by Liv Clarke · Manchester Evening NewsSpanish authorities have confirmed that 89 people remain missing in the eastern Valencia region one week after deadly floods swept through the region. It’s the first time a figure of the missing has been made public.
The number only corresponds to the eastern Valencia region, where 211 of the 217 confirmed deaths took place. The Superior Court of Valencia said the figure was based on those cases whereby families had provided information and biological samples of their unlocated loved ones.
The devastating floods have been described as Spain’s worst natural disaster this century. Heavy rainfall battered the north-east of the country on Tuesday, October 29, resulting in flash floods which swept through the Valencia region. Thousands of soldiers, firefighters, and police officers have been deployed to the region to look for bodies, with many believed to be trapped inside cars and garages which were flooded.
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On Tuesday, November 5, Spain’s central government approved a 10.6-billion-euro (£8.9 billion) relief package for 78 communities that Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez compared with measures taken during the Covid-19 pandemic. They include direct payments of 20,000 euros to 60,000 euros to owners of damaged homes, among other financial aid for businesses and municipal governments.
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“We have a lot of work left to do, and we know it,” Mr Sanchez said. Mr Sanchez said he will ask the European Union to help pay for the relief.
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, the prime minister and regional officials when they made their first visit to the epicentre of the flood damage.