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Angry crowds chanted “murderer” and threw mud at King Felipe as he visited an area hit by Spain’s worst flood-related disaster.
Footage shows the king surrounded by angry locals who remain on edge as the death toll from the floods reaches 217 and is likely to continue to rise.
Police officers on horseback had to hold back dozens of people.
The King and his wife, Queen Letizia, visited Valencia on Sunday along with Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. They met with local officials, first responders and civilians.
Thousands of troops were mobilized in this operation, which Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez described as “the largest operation in Spain during peacetime.”
It comes amid growing fears that large numbers of bodies may be trapped in the water, including in a completely submerged underground car park at a shopping center in Bonaire, one of Spain’s largest.
Professional scuba divers are currently searching the car park for bodies.
Eduardo Martinez, who works at a shopping center, told ElDiario.es that some people “ignored” security guards’ advice not to retrieve cars from the underground car park when the flooding began.
How Spain’s ‘catastrophic’ floods left more than 200 dead – explained in pictures
Deadly floods left cars piling up like toys in the streets, engulfing homes and leaving entire neighborhoods covered in sludge and debris.
Read the full article here:
Holly EvansNovember 4, 2024 05:00
Expatriate teachers in Spain remain trapped as floods engulf their villages and food is scarce.
A foreign teacher living in southern Valencia, Spain, said he was ‘surrounded by water’ and unable to leave his village due to flash flooding in the area.
John Fahy, 55, from the seaside town of Cullera, also said there was no food in supermarkets and no new supplies were expected for some time.
“We can’t leave our village because it’s completely flooded,” he said.
“There is no one in the Cullera store because there is no food and there won’t be for a while.”
Read the full article here:
Holly EvansNovember 4, 2024 04:00
WATCH: Rescue workers wade through chest-high water as death toll exceeds 200
Holly EvansNovember 4, 2024 03:00
Angry crowds throw mud and insults at Spain’s king as the search for flood victims continues.
“It was known and no one did anything to avoid it.” A young man spoke to the king, who insisted on staying to talk to people despite the commotion, and Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez quickly retreated.
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Holly EvansNovember 4, 2024 02:00
Has this happened before?
Spain’s Mediterranean coast is no stranger to autumn storms that can cause flooding, but this was the most intense flash flooding event in recent memory.
Elderly people in Paiporta, the epicenter of the tragedy, said Tuesday’s floods were three times worse than the 1957 floods, killing at least 81 people. The event led to the diversion of the Turia waterway, which meant that large parts of the city were protected from these floods.
Valencia suffered two other major DANAs in the 1980s. One killed about 30 people in 1982, and another broke rainfall records five years later.
The flash floods surpass those that swept through a campsite along the Gallego River in northeastern Biescas in August 1996, killing 87 people.
Holly EvansNovember 4, 2024 01:00
Latest photos from Valencia
Holly EvansNovember 4, 2024 00:00
‘Cold drop’ and flood defenses: What caused devastating floods in Spain?
Tuesday’s rainfall, dubbed the ‘flood of the century’, devastated large areas of southern and eastern Spain in torrents of muddy water.
In Valencia, troops have been called in to support the ongoing rescue operation as cars roll down streets and village roads turn into rivers.
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Holly EvansNovember 3, 2024 23:00
What happened on Tuesday and Wednesday?
The storm was concentrated in the banks of the Magro and Turia rivers, and in the Poyo riverbed it created a wall of water that overflowed the riverbanks and left people unaware as they went about their daily lives on Tuesday evening and early Wednesday. I couldn’t do it.
In the blink of an eye, muddy water covered roads and railway tracks, and even entered homes and businesses in cities and villages on the southern outskirts of Valencia. Drivers took refuge on the roofs of their vehicles, and residents took refuge in higher places.
Spain’s Meteorological Agency said more rain fell in the hard-hit Chiva region in eight hours than in the previous 20 months. Other areas on the southern outskirts of Valencia were swept away by walls of water flooding from drainage ditches without any rain.
By the time authorities warned people on mobile phones of the severity of the flooding and asked people to stay at home, many people were already on the move, working in low-lying areas or underground garages, which had become waterlogged death traps.
Holly EvansNovember 3, 2024 22:00
Anger at public officials struggling to respond to massive disaster
Anger was further compounded by the authorities’ failure to respond quickly to the aftermath. Much of the clearing of the mud and debris that had accumulated in countless homes was done by residents and thousands of volunteers.
“We lost everything!” someone shouted.
Sunday’s cries included calls for the resignation of Valencia regional president Carlo Mazin, who is responsible for protecting citizens, and a demand: “Where is Pedro Sánchez?”
“I understand the anger and, of course, stayed to receive it,” Mazïn said of X. “It was my moral and political duty. “The king’s attitude this morning was exemplary.”
Holly EvansNovember 3, 2024 21:00
Waves crashing over a hilltop village, a night of terror caused by floods in Spain
Irene Cuevas will never forget the sound of the waves crashing beneath the balcony of her apartment.
I wish she could have caught a glimpse of lightning flashing in the dark and sounds like the roar of the sea.
“It was a constant fear because there was no light to see,” Cuevas told The Associated Press. “We could hear the incredible roar of the waves. The streets were completely flooded and we were hoping for some lightning so we could at least see what we were in. It was all waves, ocean currents everywhere.
“The sound of the waves is burning in our memories.”
Read the full article here:
Holly Evans3 November 2024 20:20
