Junta maintains that Andalucía is prepared to cope with any emergency in the region

The Andalusian regional government is giving assurances to the public that it is prepared to face an emergency such as the one caused last week by the passage of a Dana weather event that caused devastation in the region, but whose effects were much more dramatic in Valencia and Albacete, where the tragedy has caused more than 200 fatalities to date.

This was stated yesterday by the regional minister of the Presidency, Antonio Sanz, during his speech at the latest parliamentary session of the Junta. He went on to highlight the progress made in improving the disaster and emergency management arrangements in Andalucía since Juanma Moreno (PP) came to power.

Sanz stated that "96.2% of the Andalusian population is covered by local emergency plans, which offer protection to 8.2 million people."

He also mentioned the progress made in this area in recent years, such as the unification of emergency management through the creation of an agency that centralises the coordination of all these interventions, which, in his opinion, "has been very positive and a great success."

Sanz also pointed out the notable increase in the number of municipalities in Andalucía that have approved territorial plans for handling local civil protection emergencies, a figure that has grown by 50% since 2019.

For his final point made at this formal gathering, Sanz also explained the measures that the Junta de Andalucía has put in place following the damage caused by last week's storms in the region, for which the regional cabinet has already approved a package of initiatives worth 75 million euros.

The Junta has already made available a first allocation of 12 million euros from the department in charge of liaison with local councils as direct aid to municipalities, "without prejudice to possible budgetary modifications that may be necessary depending on how events evolve."

Antonio Sanz emphasised "prevention, which is what has marked the actions of the Junta in managing the emergency caused by the Dana", adding that the civil protection emergency plans were activated at the local level in all the region's provinces.

The regional ministry of agriculture has also activated another 50-million aid package to help recovery for the industry, which will reach 69 municipalities affected by the recent storms. This will be allocated to the recovery of rural roads, compensation for SMEs (small-to-medium-sized enterprises) and farms, as well as the repair of damaged hydraulics for irrigation on farms.

Finally, the regional ministry for development has earmarked 11 million euros for the repair of roads that come under regional jurisdiction.