Madrid.- The Council of Ministers, at its meeting on Tuesday, declared areas seriously affected by a civil protection emergency the territories damaged by 112 adverse episodes recorded in fourteen autonomous communities between July 27 and August 31, 2026, a decision that empowers the different ministerial departments to implement different lines of aid to compensate for the damages suffered by people or institutions.
In the period established in the agreement of the Council of Ministers, and among the various emergencies included, the seismic series that affected the province of Granada during the month of August stands out in a singular way, serious both because of its temporary persistence and because of the concern generated between the population and the competent administrations.
The agreement includes the different forest fires registered in the autonomous communities of Andalusia, Aragon, Castilla-La Mancha, Castilla y León, Catalonia, Community of Madrid, Foral Community of Navarra, Comunitat Valenciana, Extremadura, Galicia, Illes Balears, La Rioja and Region of Murcia.
The list below includes certain forest fires that occurred prior to the period from July 27 to August 31, 2026, but whose operational situations were reported to the National Emergency Center (CENEM) during that time interval.
This is the case of a fire started on June 26 and several fires started between July 15 and 24, 2026, whose official communication was received later and within the reference period. Its consideration makes it possible to fully incorporate the emergencies that are monitored and coordinated by the National Civil Protection System during the established time frame.
The agreement also includes several adverse meteorological phenomena, among which highlights episodes of high temperatures, intense rains and floods that affected mainly Catalonia and, to a lesser extent, Castilla y León.
Along with these phenomena, other incidents of special relevance to civil protection were recorded, such as the fire that occurred on line 1 of the Barcelona Metro, the temporary interruption of communications from the 112 emergency service of Catalonia as a result of heavy rains, the activation of a pre-alert situation due to the risk of marine pollution derived from the waterway suffered by a fishing vessel in Gran Tarajal, as well as various accidents with dangerous substances in facilities located in the provinces of Barcelona, Albacete, Huesca and Las Palmas.
Supplementary aid
All these events have caused personal damage, in infrastructures and in public and private property, which justify the intervention of the General Administration of the State from the principle of interterritorial solidarity and in a subsidiary way to the actions that, in the exercise of their competences, are entrusted to the territorial public administrations.
The aid already in force or to be agreed in the future extends to those territorial areas in which damage has occurred as a result of the phenomena described, but the effectiveness of the aid and recovery measures will be subject to the accreditation of the damages caused, in accordance with the procedures and requirements provided for in each of the corresponding aid lines.
Likewise, once this General Administration of the State has a more complete evaluation of the damages produced, carried out in collaboration with the regional and local administrations affected, this Agreement may be complemented by the adoption of additional measures of recovery, coordination and support that may be necessary to favor the return to normality.
In particular, all persons or entities that can prove the damage suffered in any of these episodes can already request from the General Secretariat of Civil Protection and Emergencies of the Ministry of the Interior aid aimed at alleviating personal damage; materials in housing and belongings; expenses of local corporations; in industrial, commercial and service establishments; and natural or legal persons who have made personal and/or property benefits for the response to the emergency.
In addition, following the agreement adopted on Tuesday, this ministry will study the possibility of approving an exemption from the fees of the Autonomous Agency Central Traffic Headquarters for duplicates of circulation or driving permits, as well as casualties of vehicles, and by issuance of the ID in case of loss or destruction.
Competition measures of other ministries
From the approval of this agreement, the Ministry of Finance will specify the exemption in the Real Property Tax quota and the reduction in the Economic Activities Tax quota. As usual, aid for personal injury will be exempt from the Income Tax of Natural Persons.
The ministries of Labour and Social Economy and of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration will be able to develop measures such as bonuses and exemptions from Social Security quotas.
The Ministry of Territorial Policy and Democratic Memory will grant aid, up to 50 percent, to projects implemented by local entities to repair municipal infrastructure, facilities and equipment.
All ministerial departments, within the scope of their competences, may declare a special area of action as well as the emergency of the works to repair the damage caused to public infrastructure in the territories covered by the agreement adopted today.
In this sense, they may be considered emergency works, services or supplies, contracts for the repair or maintenance of infrastructures, equipment or services, works for the replacement of damaged goods and assessments of damages, whatever their amount. The occupation of the property affected by the expropriations arising from the execution of the works may also be declared urgent, in accordance with the Law on Forced Expropriation of 16 December 1954.
NOTE: The table with the beneficiaries is found in the press release.