Saturday, May 14, 2011

Public mass for 4 of the victims

The prime minister along with Crown Prince Felipe and his wife Letizia attended the funeral mass in Lorca for victims of the earthquake. The funeral service, led by the Bishop of Cartagena and televised live to the nation, took place in the Recinto Ferial because tremor damage had left all the town's churches too unsafe to enter.

The prime minister, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero has said that the government would help the city rebuild and return to normal as soon as possible. "It is my conviction that we are going to meet this test. The earthquake was hard and strong. But this country is stronger. Its desire for solidarity and reconstruction are stronger."

The Spanish cabinet have approved an emergency aid programme for people who lost their homes or businesses. The plan includes money for people to rent elsewhere while their homes are repaired or rebuilt, and €25m in credit lines for people to repair their places of business, farms, factories or vehicles.

Lorca's mayor said on Thursday that more than half of the 550 buildings inspected so far by engineers and architects were uninhabitable.

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