Spain deploys additional 10,000 soldiers and police to flood hit area
(VOVWORLD) - Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced on Saturday that Spain will deploy an additional 5,000 soldiers and 5,000 police to the eastern Valencia region, which has been devastated by floods that killed at least 211 people.
 Volunteers and soldiers clean the streets. (photo: Independent) |
The Prime Minister said that this is the second deadliest flood in Europe in this century and Spain is deploying the largest number of military and security forces in peacetime. The Government pledges to mobilize all necessary resources to overcome the consequences of the flooding.
Valencia in eastern Spain is the hardest hit region by the floods. Thousands of houses and infrastructures have been flooded and destroyed while transport has been paralyzed. Locals are struggling with a shortage of clean water, electricity, and food. The government's priority is to restore order and distribute reliefs to flooded-localities.
Meteorological experts said climate change is one of the main reasons of extreme-weather phenomenon. This has been the most destructive natural disaster in Europe since 1967, when about 500 people died in a flood in Portugal.