“We could not wait any longer”. With this phrase, the mayor of Ibiza, Rafael Triguero, valued the Government’s decision to include the municipality among the
Much needed” recognition
Triguero celebrated the state resolution assuring that “the declaration of Ibiza as a seriously affected area (…) is a very necessary recognition of the magnitude of the damages” caused by the storms Ex Gabrielle and Alice. The Consistory recalls that the damages in infrastructures and businesses were already accredited, and that the measure will allow the activation of support mechanisms.
The mayor recalled the work of the City Council to complete the technical verifications of the damage. “For weeks we have worked tirelessly to quantify the damage, now estimated at almost 29 million euros,” explained the mayor. The meteorological episodes were added to the floods of September 30, when up to 236 liters per square meter were recorded in some points of the Pitiusas.
“Many of these damages (in municipal infrastructures, equipment, stores and public spaces) were clearly accredited, and with this measure we can begin to activate real aid mechanisms”, he pointed out.
Triguero stressed that the declaration is not just a formality. ” It is a matter of social urgency,” he said, recalling that homes and premises continue to be affected. Triguero remarked that the neighbors and traders have been in uncertainty for weeks and that the lack of state response had generated concern.
Fiscal measures and labor support
The agreement opens the door to tax benefits, labor measures and aid for local corporations. On this point, Triguero insisted that “it is essential to activate exemptions, moratoriums or bonuses” for those who have suffered losses. “We cannot ask them to continue assuming all the costs when they have lost so much,” he said.
To close his assessment, the mayor thanked the decision of the central Executive, but demanded promptness: “This aid must arrive as soon as possible”. And he warned: “Ibiza cannot wait any longer: we have shown that we are resilient, (…) now we need firm support to rebuild with justice”.
