Hundreds of residents from a suburb in Valencia that was severely affected by last week’s catastrophic floods protested during a visit from Spanish King Felipe, Queen Letizia, and Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, with some individuals throwing mud at them.
Chanting “Murderers, murderers!” they expressed their built-up frustration over what local residents widely perceived as delayed alerts from authorities regarding the dangers posed by Tuesday’s storm and flooding in the Valencia region, followed by a sluggish emergency response when disaster struck.
Queen Letizia of Spain (L), with mud stains on her face
“It was known and nobody did anything to prevent it,” a young man told the king, who chose to remain and engage with the crowd despite the turmoil, while the prime minister had retreated.
At one point during the visit to the affected suburb of Paiporta, Felipe offered comfort to a man who was in tears, resting his head on the king’s shoulder.
The king later remarked that Spain must “understand the anger and frustration” of those impacted by the floods that devastated towns and left cars piled in muddy heaps on streets.
In a video shared on social media, the king urged the public to provide the victims with “hope and their assurance that the entire state is present.”
The crowd’s anger seemed largely directed at Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and the head of the Valencia region, Carlos Mazon.
The central government stated that issuing alerts to the population falls under the jurisdiction of regional authorities.
The Valencia authorities claimed they acted to the best of their ability given the information available at the time.
The death toll from the worst flash floods in Spain’s modern history rose to 217 today, with nearly all casualties occurring in the Valencia region, including over 60 in Paiporta alone.
Hope for discovering survivors diminished five days after torrents of muddy water obliterated towns and infrastructure, marking Spain’s worst flooding disaster in decades.
King Felipe VI visited Paiporta, one of the most severely affected areas by the floods.
In a televised statement, Mr. Sanchez announced yesterday that the government was deploying an additional 5,000 army troops to assist with search and clean-up efforts, building on the 2,500 soldiers already on the ground.
“This is the largest operation by the armed forces in Spain during peacetime,” Mr. Sanchez stated. “The government will mobilize all necessary resources for as long as it takes.”
The Valencia regional authorities reported last night that the total number of fatalities in the region stood at 211, with two additional fatalities from Castilla La Mancha and one from Andalusia.
This tragedy is already recognized as Europe’s worst flood-related disaster since 1967, when at least 500 lives were lost in Portugal.
Read more: Before and after satellite images show Spain devastation
Volunteers gathered at Valencia’s City of Arts and Sciences center yesterday for the first coordinated clean-up effort organized by regional authorities.
The venue has been repurposed into the nerve center for this operation.
In Valencia’s Picanya suburb, shop owner Emilia, 74, shared with Reuters: “We feel abandoned; many people need help. It’s not just my house, but all the houses, and we are disposing of furniture, we are throwing away everything.”
“When will we receive help for fridges and washing machines? Because we can’t even wash our clothes or take a shower.”
Nurse Maria Jose Gilabert, 52, who also resides in Picanya, expressed: “We are devastated because there is not much light at the end of the tunnel right now; it’s not that help isn’t coming—it’s arriving from all over Spain—but it will be a long time before this area becomes livable again.”
The storm has triggered a new weather alert in the Balearic Islands, Catalonia, and Valencia, where further rainfall is anticipated over the weekend.
Scientists warn that extreme weather events are becoming increasingly common in Europe and beyond due to climate change. Meteorologists believe that the warming of the Mediterranean, which accelerates water evaporation, plays a significant role in intensifying torrential rains.
George Lee: Destruction in Valencia shows we are in grip of dangerous climate emergency
