Furious locals hurled mud and insults at Spain’s king, queen, and prime minister on Sunday in a startling show of anger in the worst-hit town in the flood disaster that has killed more than 210 people.
More heavy rain fell on the Valencia region after King Felipe VI, Queen Letizia, and Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez were forced to leave Paiporta where more than 70 people died in floods last Tuesday.
Mud hit the monarchs in the face and clothes as they tried to calm the angry crowd in scenes that underscored the fury over the response to the disaster that has now killed at least 217 people with many more still missing.
The king and queen went to a crisis center in Paiporta. But extra security guards soon had to keep the angry crowd away from them. They put up umbrellas to stop mud from hitting the royal couple.
The king said later that Spain had to “understand the anger and frustration” of people affected by the floods, which devastated towns and left cars piled up in muddy heaps on the streets.
In a social media video, the king called on the public to give the victims “hope and their guarantee that the state in its entirety is present”.
Most of the fury seemed directed at Prime Minister Sanchez and Valencia regional government head Carlos Mazon.
“I understand the social anger and I’m here to receive it. This is my political and moral obligation,” Mazon said in a post on X.
The rear window of Sanchez´s car was broken before he and the local politicians quickly left. The socialist leader said that while he empathized with the “anguish and suffering” of the victims, he condemned “all forms of violence”.
Spain’s meteorological agency issued a “red alert” for new storms in the Valencia region on Sunday, and heavy rain started falling overnight.
Police using megaphones urged Valencia residents to stay in their homes. The AEMET weather agency said up to nine centimeters (3.5 inches) of rain could fall in one hour.
It had earlier warned of flooding in the southern province of Almeria, advising residents not to travel unless necessary.
