VALENCIA: Tens of thousands of people took to the streets of Spain’s eastern city of Valencia on Saturday to mark the first anniversary of floods that killed 229 people and to denounce the handling of the disaster.
Demonstrators, many carrying photos of the victims, called on regional leader Carlos Mazon to resign over what they say was a slow response to one of Europe’s deadliest natural disasters in decades.
“People are still really angry,” said Rosa Cerros, a 42-year-old government worker who took part with her husband and two young daughters.
“Why weren’t people evacuated? It’s incomprehensible.”
Mazon’s administration has been heavily criticised for not sending text alerts until flooding had already begun in some areas on October 29, 2024.
The messages were sent more than 12 hours after the national weather agency had issued its highest alert level for torrential rains.
Residents told Spanish media that by the time they received the alert, muddy water was already surrounding their cars, submerging streets, and pouring into their homes.
The floods hit 78 municipalities, mostly in the southern outskirts of the city of Valencia, killing 229 people in the region. The body of one victim was found as recently as Tuesday.
Despite the warning signs, Mazon went ahead with an hours-long lunch with a journalist on the day of the floods and also appeared in photos posted by his staff on social media, receiving a sustainable tourism certification. – AFP
