Angry residents protested and lit candles to honour the victims on Friday as Spain marked a month since the worst flooding in a generation killed 230 people.
Outrage swept the country after Hurricane Dana brought rains to the region in late October 29, triggering floods. In Valencia, torrents of water swept away cars and washed away homes.
Some residents received phone alerts when the water was already raging in cities, and several municipalities went without government assistance for days and relied on volunteers for food, water and cleaning supplies.
In Piport, the epicentre of the disaster, church bells rang out at dusk around the time the flooding began. Several hundred local residents, some wearing masks, gathered at a ravine affected by the heavy rain.
They placed candles on both sides of the ravine in memory of the 45 people who died in Piport during the flooding. Bea Garcia, a 43-year-old teacher, said:
“It’s a tribute to them, we’re putting candles for them so they won’t be forgotten. People continue to feel alone, the anger remains, as well as fatigue and frustration. We are all exhausted.”
At 8:11 p.m., as Valencia’s regional authorities issued an alert more than 12 hours after the national weather service warned, several people set off alarms on their mobile phones and chanted slogans calling for regional leader Carlos Mazon to resign or go to jail.
Similar rallies took place in cities and towns in Valencia, organised by trade unions, associations and local organisations.
Spanish media previously reported that angry protesters threw mud on the King and Queen of Spain, when they visited one of the most affected by the elements of the city. With the same attitude of the crowd faced and Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, who was then urgently evacuated.
In Spain, regional authorities are responsible for disaster response in Spain, but they can request assistance from Madrid. The Spanish Meteorological Agency issued a warning of an impending hurricane on October 25, but Valencia authorities only sent out alerts to residents’ mobile phones hours before the flooding. The official in charge claims she was not aware of the SMS system at all.
