Spain announces 3.76 billion euros in new aid to Valencia after floods

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MADRID (Reuters) – Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Monday announced 3.76 billion euros ($4.01 billion) in additional measures to reconstruct the Valencia area after the deadliest flash floods in Spain’s modern history.

More than 220 people died after torrential rains on Oct. 29 triggered floods that swept through the suburbs south of the regional capital Valencia.

The measures are on top of the 10.6 billion euros in aid announced last week.

“There are still streets to be cleaned, there are garages to be drained, there are many infrastructures to be repaired and, above all, many lives, many homes and many businesses to be restored to normal,” Sanchez told reporters after the weekly cabinet meeting.

The package, with 110 measures, extends aid to rental households and includes a 500 million-euro package to remove mud in the affected area and 200 million euros in aid to farmers.

Sanchez said it includes an additional 12-months of mortgage relief for vulnerable households, in addition to the one-year moratorium announced last week.

Sanchez also said the government will assign 150 houses or flats in or near the damaged areas to affected families and will earmark 25 million euros for buying houses.

($1 = 0.9380 euros)