Floods in Spain: bridges destroyed, roads cut… one month after the tragedy, a return to normal remains distant

The days pass, but the south-east of Spain remains in shock from the floods which left 230 dead. The victims, relief workers and volunteers are still working hard to return to normal in dozens of communities affected by the tragedy. One month to the day after the disaster caused by torrential rains, rallies are to take place on Friday in several of the affected municipalities, at the call of union organizations and associations.

These demonstrations could take several forms, with some even having mentioned symbolic actions at 8:11 p.m. precisely, the time at which the authorities in the Valencia region ended up launching an alert on the population’s cell phones to inform them of the danger. More than twelve hours after the alert from the National Meteorological Agency.

More than 69,000 homes affected

Torrents of mud carrying away everything in their path, bridges destroyed by the floods, cars lifted and piled up everywhere, cellars and parking lots flooded… The images of devastation are still fresh in the minds of the inhabitants of the region and all of Spain .

“There is still a lot of work to be done, there are hundreds of flooded garages and basements, damaged buildings, closed businesses, cut roads, entire villages that have not yet returned to normal life” , recognized socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez on Wednesday before the deputies.

Emergency management considered chaotic

In total, the government has promised 16.6 billion euros in aid and loans. Thousands of soldiers, firefighters and police officers are deployed for clean-up and reconstruction operations, without succeeding in silencing criticism of policies since the tragedy.

This anger, aimed both at the delay in launching the alert before the disaster and at the management of relief. A sign that discontent remains strong, a new demonstration is to take place on Saturday in Valencia, the regional capital, where some 130,000 people had already marched at the beginning of the month to denounce the management considered chaotic of relief by the Sánchez government.