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Spain announces new aid package worth 3.765 billion to support DANA victims
The additional aid will support landlords, homeowners and vulnerable families in Valencia and surrounds
The Spanish government has just announced a new package of measures to alleviate the damages caused by the DANA (Isolated Depression at High Levels) disaster, worth a total of 3.765 billion euros. This is in addition to the 10.6 billion in aid made available last week to help those in the province of Valencia and other municipalities who have suffered financially as a result of the floods.
This latest funding, made public on Monday November 11, contains an extra 110 measures to deal with the DANA catastrophe.
Aid for housing damage
One of the main measures of the package is to provide aid for damage to homes, which will be extended to owners who did not live in the affected properties at the time of the floods but rented them out.
Additionally, compensation will be provided for loss of household goods and property that are not essential, both to owners and tenants. 50% of this aid will be paid immediately to avoid delays in processing claims.
Furthermore, affected households will be able to freeze their mortgages for a further 12 months, once the initial 12 months have passed. The government has also made 150 state-owned homes available in and near the affected areas, and will allocate 25 million euros to buy residential properties.
Lastly, power and gas cuts will be prohibited for affected households and homeowners will have the option of temporarily deferring their bills.
Work related compensation
The new package will strengthen the ERTE (temporary redundancy plan) of force majeure to apply to all companies and workers who have seen their activity affected by the DANA. The temporary disability benefit will also be considered equivalent to that of an occupational accident, eliminating the requirement of previous years of contributions to access it.
Self-employed workers and companies
The government has approved a new extraordinary benefit for partial cessation of work for self-employed workers, which will allow them to combine their activity with receiving this aid for 3 months, equivalent to 50% of their contribution base.
The package also includes the activation of a first tranche of 1 billion euros of ICO loans, specifying a line of guarantees that will cover 80% of the total loan, to help households, companies and self-employed workers access the aid.
Agriculture
Direct aid of 200 million euros will be made available for farms that have suffered damage that prevents them from carrying out the next harvest normally.
An additional line of ICO MAPA SAECA credits of 60 million euros is included for farmers and ranchers. The government will also implement a system to repair agricultural infrastructure, costing 175 million.
Aid for children
The new aid package will include a temporary 30% increase in the Child Aid supplement for low-income families with children living in the affected areas.
Restoration of the Albufera, cinemas and bookstores
The package will provide 45 million euros for the restoration of the Albufera and river basins affected by the flooding, and 2 million euros in direct aid for cinemas, bookshops and cultural entities.
In addition, 500 million euros are allocated to finance an ‘Action Plan Against Sludge’ aimed at removing accumulated debris and repairing the water networks of the affected municipalities.
Also of interest: This is how you can help the animals affected by the DANA
Image: x.com/Jdsarrion
