As soon as last Sunday's elections were out of the way, president Zapatero visited the parts of Castilla La Mancha worst affected by last week's torrential rain storms.

Accompanied by the mayor of Alcázar de San Juan, José Fernando Sánchez, and regional president, José María Barreda, Mr Zapatero paid a visit to the Hermanos Laguna district, a poor area of the town from where more than four hundred people whose homes were flooded, had to be evacuated.

After being shown the extent of the problem, Mr Zapatero explained the details of the aid package agreed during last Friday's cabinet meeting, and later told a press conference (photo) that he had promised the residents "a new district" to prevent the same problem from re-occurring again in the future.

For their part, the regional government agreed a three hundred million euro compensation package - also last Friday - for those whose homes or crops have been ruined.