The island's president, Rosa Dávila, and the Minister of the Presidency, José Miguel Ruano, announced that the island will apply for funds from the 'Declaration of Area Seriously Affected by Civil Protection Emergencies' approved by the central government. Although the assessment period was short, Ruano highlighted that road networks alone suffered 12.6 million euros in damage, with expectations of 50% state co-financing for this item.
The natural environment has also been severely impacted, with estimated damages of 5.1 million euros, including trails, forest tracks, and effects on the Teide National Park. Approximately 1.4 million euros are needed to repair forest and agricultural tracks, and 1.1 million euros for the restoration of forest mass affected by water currents, to prevent further deterioration.
“"What this means is that it is most likely that even if we had the total amount well defined, it will not be the State that covers 50% of those expenses; normally there will be a State contribution, but we cannot quantify it yet, and it will not reach that percentage because the financing will be borne by the insular administration itself."
The Cabildo acts as an intermediary between the state administration and the municipalities, which have reported 15.6 million euros in damages to municipal infrastructure and equipment. However, La Guancha and El Sauzal have declined to apply for state funds. Other municipalities such as San Miguel and Santiago del Teide have not yet submitted their damage analyses due to the short deadline, and Puerto de la Cruz has estimated the damages but has not provided accounting information, which could increase the total figure in the coming days.
Among the municipalities with the highest financial requests are La Orotava (4.3 million), La Victoria (1.5 million), La Laguna (1.4 million), and El Rosario (1.2 million). Santa Cruz de Tenerife also reports 1.2 million, while La Matanza estimates 1,041,000 euros, Güímar 820,000 euros, Arico 690,000 euros, and Santa Úrsula 560,000 euros.
Ruano explained that the declaration of a 'disaster zone' is governed by royal decrees from 2005 and 2007, which establish which emergency works are co-financable by the State. However, he clarified that certain repairs carried out directly by Cabildo personnel are not eligible for state funding. The Government Delegation has set April 27 as the deadline for more precise quantification of damages and formal submission of the state contribution request.
