In Valencia, the King and Prime Minister of Spain were thrown mud during the inspection of the floods
On Sunday, 3 November, Spain’s King Philip VI faced an outraged crowd during a visit to the city of Paiporta, which was hit hardest by last week’s devastating storms and flooding in the Valencia region. This was reported by the Spanish news agency EFE.
A severe storm that began on the night of 28 October caused widespread flooding in Spain, killing more than 210 people, including 62 people in Paiporta, near Valencia.
King Philip and Queen Letizia, along with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and Valencia Region Governor Carlos Mason, visited Paiporta, where rescue and clean-up efforts are underway, to search for the missing and help affected residents clean up their homes.
A video posted on social media shows the crowd greeting the king with shouts, insults and throwing mud at him. They chant ‘shame’, ‘get out’ and call the king a ‘murderer’. One protester told the king that the state’s response to the disaster was ‘shameful’.
The queen, the prime minister and the president of Valencia were reportedly evacuated from the area, while King Philip stayed behind to continue talking to the flood victims.
This disaster has become the worst for Spain in the last century. Many citizens are outraged by the delays in warning of the disaster and the slow response of the authorities.
In response, Prime Minister Sanchez on Saturday announced the deployment of an additional 10,000 police and military personnel to take part in the rescue efforts.
As a reminder, search and rescue operations in the affected regions of Spain continue to uncover bodies, and dozens of people are still missing.
