Spain announces $11.6b aid package for flood victims

KABUL (Pajhwok): The Spanish government has announced an 11.6 billion US dollars aid package for flood victims, a media report said on Wednesday.

At least 89 people remain missing after deadly floods ravaged eastern Spain, the regional judicial authorities in Valencia said on Tuesday.

Reuters quoted Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez as saying he was earmarking 10.6 billion euros ($11.6 billion) to help the flood victims.

It said at least 217 people died in Valencia, Castile-La Mancha and Andalusia, but only 133 have been identified so far.

"There are still missing persons to be located, homes and businesses destroyed, buried under the mud and many people suffering severe shortages," Sanchez said at a press conference in Madrid earlier on Tuesday. "We have to keep working."

The aid will include 838 million euros in direct cash to small businesses and freelance workers affected by the disaster and 5 billion euros of state-guaranteed loans.

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