Madrid-Sana
The snowstorm "Philomena" that hit the Spanish capital, Madrid, at the weekend, killed four people and caused massive damage estimated at 1.4 billion euros.
Reuters quoted Madrid Mayor Jose Luis Alameda as saying today that the storm caused damage estimated at at least 1.4 billion euros, adding: "A disaster occurred in Madrid that severely affected normal life and public services in the city and caused severe damage to personal property and economic activity."
Alameda urged the central government to declare Madrid a disaster zone, which means allocating emergency aid to it.
The authorities indicated that a man and his wife drowned after a river flooded near “Malaga” in southern Spain, and that two homeless people froze to death, one in Madrid and the other in the city of Ayoub Castle in the east of the country.
The storm caused the largest amount of snow in central Spain in decades, creating chaos, with temperatures falling to record levels, closing businesses, damaging buildings and disrupting services.