The destruction is so great in the Valencia area that it is estimated to lower Spain's entire growth. Both roads and railways are washed away, agricultural land is devastated, and countless homes and business premises are unusable after the torrential rains that came at the end of October. The authorities have counted 229 deaths.
In a speech in parliament, Sánchez is now raising the economic frameworks for the recovery work to a total equivalent of approximately 190 billion kronor.
He says it is reasonable to "look for those responsible", and says he is "completely open" to a special parliamentary commission that will examine what mistakes may have been made. Starting that work now would be too early, he believes in his speech.
At the political level, the aftermath of the weather disaster has developed into a blame game between Sánchez's socially democratic central government in Madrid and Valencia's regional right-wing leadership under Carlos Mazón.
Mazón has been heavily criticized, among other things, for calmly enjoying a three-hour lunch while the water masses spread and the phones of Valencia residents were filled with beeping evacuation alerts and disaster images.
Mazón, however, blames much of the mistakes on slow-moving central authorities in Madrid.
