Government declares areas affected by extreme weather summer to be disaster areas

The Executive announces that it will increase aid for those affected by emergencies, which date back to 2005.

The Council of Ministers approved on Tuesday the declaration of areas affected by an emergency (former classification of catastrophic area) for the territories affected by the forest fires and floods of last June. This qualification serves to speed up the Executive’s response in the devastated areas through direct aid and tax exemptions. The Government has also announced that it is working on a future royal decree, which it does not set a date, but should be ready in the coming months, to increase economic aid for victims of natural disasters and other emergencies established by the current regulations, which were approved 20 years ago and La Moncloa considers outdated.

“We are working on an update of the amounts, so that the aid is reasonably adequate, or more reasonably, to the damage, taking into account the time that has elapsed since the enactment of this royal decree,” explained the Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, after the Council of Ministers that approved the declaration of areas seriously affected by civil protection emergencies. commonly known as catastrophic areas in all the autonomous communities except the Basque Country. Pedro Sánchez’s government has thus enabled the way for those affected by the 121 civil protection emergencies that have been registered in Spain since June 24 to claim aid: 114 forest fires – 15 large fires are still active in Castilla y León (10), Asturias (3) and Galicia (2) – and seven caused by floods and floods. The Government’s intention is that future aid will be retroactive when it is approved. Meanwhile, the amounts approved two decades ago for the response to the wave of fires and floods in the last two months are maintained. The amounts regulated in Royal Decree 307/2005 are 18,000 euros for death or for absolute and permanent disability.

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