The Government of Spain has launched today in Grazalema the first of 18 comprehensive care offices created to assist ‘in situ’ those affected by the damage caused by the Leonardo and Marta embankments in Andalusia and Extremadura.

The opening was carried out within the framework of the visit of the Secretary of State for Territorial Policy, Arcadi Spain, who held a meeting with the mayors of the Sierra de Cádiz to coordinate the application of the aid approved by the Executive and accelerate the recovery of municipal infrastructures.

With this action, the Government fulfills the commitment announced this week by the First Vice-President of the Government and Minister of Finance, María Jesús Montero, during her visit to Grazalema, where she stressed the importance of accompanying the municipalities not only in the emergency, but especially in the economic, urban and social reconstruction after the floods.

The mudslides recorded at the beginning of February caused extraordinary rainfall, overflows and the eviction of more than 12,400 people. Faced with this situation, on 17 February the Council of Ministers approved a package of urgent measures worth more than EUR 7 billion.

Among the measures included in the Royal Decree-Law are the direct aid of 150 euros per person per day for evictions, the quadrupling of compensation for death and disability, aid for damages in homes and belongings, support for industries and businesses, more than 2.8 billion for the primary sector, a fund of 2 billion in direct transfers to municipalities for infrastructure reconstruction, as well as tax exemptions and extraordinary labor measures. All these aids will be retroactive and will be exempt from taxation.

“The most important thing now is for the aid to arrive quickly and for the bureaucracy not to become an added problem. These offices are there to inform, accompany and facilitate each procedure,” said Arcadi Spain.

Online and face-to-face processing

Among the measures that can be processed, the direct aid of 150 euros per person per day for those who have been evicted as a result of the floods, on a retroactive basis, stands out.

The processing may also be carried out electronically through the electronic headquarters of the Ministry of the Interior, at the following link:

https://sede.interior.gob.es/portal/sede/tramites?codAgrupacion=SIGAY

The paper form will be available in the “Citizen Services” space on the website of the Ministry of the Interior for those who choose the face-to-face presentation.

Today, the Grazalema office is established and, from tomorrow, the Post Offices and all the offices of delegations and subdelegations of the Government will be operational. The rest of the offices in the capital of the region, both in Andalusia and in Extremadura, will be opened progressively in the coming days.

In addition, in cases where there are people or municipalities with difficulties of access or mobility, the staff of the program “The Administration near you”, of the Ministry of Territorial Policy and Democratic Memory, will travel to the affected territories to ensure that nobody is left out of the aid system for geographical or social reasons.

Territorial deployment of offices

The office opened today in Grazalema is the first of a device of 14 regional offices planned in Andalusia, to which others will be added in regional capitals in this community and also in Extremadura.

These offices will be staffed by personnel from the General Administration of the State, reinforced with technicians from the public company Tragsa, who will collaborate in the assessment of damages and in the processing of files, working in a coordinated manner with the subdelegations of the Government.

The objective is to offer comprehensive, close and agile care that allows to speed up procedures as much as possible, facilitate the reconstruction of homes and businesses and restore essential public services in the shortest possible time.

Coordination and reconstruction

During the meeting with mayors and mayors of the Sierra de Cádiz, the evaluation of damages in municipal infrastructures, rural roads and essential public services has been addressed, as well as the need to maintain constant coordination between the administrations throughout the reconstruction process.

With the opening of this first regional office in Grazalema and the deployment of the rest of the device in Andalusia and Extremadura, the Spanish Government strengthens its presence on the ground and takes a decisive step so that the approved aid reaches those who need it most as soon as possible.