Hundreds of residents of a Valencia suburb, badly hit by last week’s deadly floods, erupted in anger and frustration during a visit by Spain’s King Felipe, Queen Letizia, and Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Sunday, Al Jazeera reports.
Demonstrators, chanting “Murderers, murderers!”, hurled mud and debris at the royal entourage, expressing their outrage over what they perceive as inadequate warning systems and a sluggish response from authorities.
The protests stemmed from widespread criticism regarding the delayed alerts issued before the catastrophic flooding on Tuesday, which claimed the lives of 217 people, primarily in the Valencia region. The death toll, Europe’s worst flood-related disaster in a single country since 1967, includes over 60 fatalities in Paiporta alone.
According to Spanish national broadcaster RTVE, the barrage aimed at the royals included rocks and other hard objects, injuring two bodyguards. The monarchs and officials subsequently cancelled a planned visit to Chiva, another village heavily impacted by the floods, located about half an hour east of Valencia city.
The central government has asserted that the responsibility for issuing alerts lies with regional authorities. However, Valencia officials have defended their actions, claiming they responded to the best of their ability with the information available at the time.
Dozens of people remain unaccounted for, and thousands of households are without electricity. The government has deployed thousands of additional troops and police to aid the disaster relief efforts, marking the largest peacetime operation in Spain’s history.
The floods, which ravaged the region on October 29-30, swept through streets and lower floors of buildings, carrying away cars and debris in powerful currents of mud.
