Spain announces $2.4 billion in new aid to Valencia after floods

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Wednesday announced 2.3 billion euros ($2.42 billion) in additional aid to reconstruct areas of the Valencia region hit by the deadliest flash floods in Spain's modern history.

The government has so far pledged a total of 16.6 billion euros in aid, and Sanchez told parliament it will keep helping as long as needed.

More than 220 people died and five are still listed as missing after torrential rains on Oct. 29 triggered floods that swept through the suburbs south of the regional capital Valencia.

Sanchez defended the way his government handled the extreme weather event, which it said was caused by climate change.

The central government has also blamed the regional administration, led by Carlos Mazon of the main opposition People's Party, for a tardy response in alerting citizens and telling them to stay at home after warnings issued by the state weather service and hydrography experts.

Regions are in charge of disaster management in Spain, but the chain of events has given rise to a blame game between the minority leftist government and the conservative opposition.

"Climate change kills. There is something much more dangerous than the climate emergency and it is the negationist governments that, by action or omission, deny the devastating effects of climate change," Sanchez told lawmakers in a critique of Mazon.

Scientists say extreme weather events are becoming more frequent due to climate change. Meteorologists believe the warming of the Mediterranean, which increases water evaporation, plays a key role in making torrential rains more severe.