The President of the Government, Pedro Sanchezannounced this Saturday the sending of 10,000 additional soldiers to Valencian Community between soldiers and agents of the National Police And Civil Guardat the same time as he summoned his regional president, Carlos Mazonto ask for “more resources if necessary” because “the central government is ready to help” and “the Valencian authorities know the terrain better than anyone”.
This is what he said Sanchez in an institutional statement from La Moncloa, where he chaired the Crisis committee to monitor the effects of torrential rains.
Concretely, Sánchez ordered the “immediate” deployment of 5,000 soldiers from military units, following a request from the Generalitat Valenciana. “I am happy that Mazón has decided to increase the number of its troops from 500 to 5,000 men,” the president said. That same Saturday, 4,000 will arrive and first thing on Sunday, the remaining 1,000 will arrive.
[Lea la declaración íntegra de Pedro Sánchez]
Likewise, the Central Executive will deploy 5,000 security agents Police National And Civil Guard“doubling the number of those already sent” to affected areas.
Yesand will also display the amphibious ship of the Rota base, equipped with accommodation, operating rooms, helicopters and a fleet of support vehicles. It will arrive at the port of Valencia in the coming hours, he said.
Spanish government raises Valencia storm death toll to 211
“It is not necessary to give priority to certain municipalities over others or priority tasks. We are giving priority to a lack of resources and that is not the case. It is not obligatory Therefore, if the Valencian Community needs more personnel, machines, financing or technical advice, you just have to ask and we will provide it as we do immediately.
“Serious deficiencies”
Sánchez recognized that “the response given is not enough” and recognized that “there is problems And serious deficiencies“because “there are still collapsed services, communities buried in mud, people missing in search of their loved ones, houses destroyed and buried in mud…”.
But “it’s not just the General State Administration replace autonomy, but rather help it with resources and technical advice” because “it is the quickest and most effective way to act at this precise moment”.
“It will be time to analyze neglect and think about how to improve the distribution of powers in situations so extreme of civil protection like the one we are suffering from,” he added. “It will be time to look back, to debugging responsibilitiesto learn to be better in the face of these climatic effects”.
But now it’s time “let’s forget our differences” and leave aside “ideologies, territorial sensitivities and differences” to act as “one united country, in diversity and in the face of adversity” with “a single enemy to defeat, which is the destruction caused by this catastrophe “.
Sánchez also insisted that “Spain gives the best of itself in times of crisis.” We did it in the tragedy of the Biescas campsite, in the 11-M attacks and also in 2017 in Barcelona and Catalonia, in the Covid-19 pandemic, in Filomena and also in the eruption of the volcano on the island of The Palm. Let’s do it again.”
In his message, he also announced that the Advice ministers next Tuesday, November 5, will approve the declaration of severely affected areafor a civil protection emergency, for the hardest hit locations. These will be areas of Valencian Community, Castile-La Mancha, Andalusia, Catalonia And Aragon.
The number of victims of the devastating DANA which has shaken the country since Tuesday It now stands at 211 peopleafter the latest data confirmed by the president himself.
Crisis committee
This Saturday’s meeting took place in the presence of the first vice-president and minister of Finance, Married Jesus Montero; the second vice-president and minister of labor and social economy, Yolanda Diazand the third vice-president and minister of ecological transition and demographic challenge, Therese Ribera.
Also the Minister of the Presidency, Justice and Relations with the Cortes, Felix Bolanos; the Minister of Defense, Marguerite Robles; the Minister of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, Oscar Puente; the Minister of Territorial Policy and Democratic Memory, Angel Victor Towersand the Minister of Science, Innovation and Universities, Diane Morant.
Sánchez will also visit this Saturday, accompanied by Marguerite Roblesthe headquarters of EMUin the Torrejón de Ardoz Air Base (Madrid).
