Tens of thousands protest in Valencia over floods
Tens of thousands of people in Valencia have taken to the streets to protest the authorities’ response to the recent deadly floods, demanding the resignation of regional leader Carlos Mazón.
Chanting “We are stained with mud, you are stained with blood,” the protesters gathered on Saturday evening to express their outrage.
The floods, caused by torrential rains in Valencia and nearby provinces in October, resulted in over 200 deaths, with 80 still missing. Protesters have criticized local officials for issuing flood warnings too late.
As the demonstration came to a close, tensions escalated, with clashes between protesters and police. Images from the scene showed Valencia’s City Hall covered in mud, and Reuters reported that protesters threw chairs and other items.
In response, Valencia’s mayor, María José Catalá, shared images of broken windows and a video showing what appeared to be a fire on social media, stating: “Vandalism is not the solution.”
The City Council condemned the vandalism, emphasizing that the city itself had also been impacted by the floods.
Anna Oliver, one of the protest organizers, expressed to Reuters: “We want to show our indignation and anger over the poor management of this disaster that has affected so many people.”
Last week the king and queen of Spain were pelted with mud and other objects by angry protesters during a visit to the town of Paiporta, one of the worst affected.
Objects were also thrown at Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who was quickly evacuated.
Thousands of people have lost their homes and streets in many areas are still covered in mud and debris.
Mazón, of the conservative Popular Party, has defended his actions. He says his officials did not receive enough warning from central government and the scale of the disaster was unforeseeable.
In Spain, regional governments are responsible for handling disaster response and can ask for extra resources from the central government in Madrid.
Spain’s weather agency issued storm warnings for the region from 25 October, but Valencian authorities did not issue alerts to local mobile phones until hours after flooding started.
The local councillor in charge of emergencies has since admitted she did not know there was a system for sending phone alerts.
Local media report that, as flooding started, Mazón met for lunch with a journalist and did not arrive at an emergency co-ordination meeting until 19:00 local time (18:00 GMT).
Government sources told the El País newspaper this was “irrelevant” and that Mazón was constantly informed of events.
The flooding in Valencia was caused by a Dana phenomenon – when warm, moist air meets cold air, creating an unstable weather system.
Scientists say the warming climate made the floods worse.
