Crowds Throw Mud at Spain’s King Felipe and Queen Letizia amid Outrage at Deaths Caused by Record Flooding
Mar. 15, 2025On Sunday, Nov. 3, the King and Queen of Spain paid a visit to the eastern city of Valencia as the death toll from the flooding reached over 200 people.
According to theBBC, the royal couple were subjected to shouts of “murderer” and “shame” as they walked through the town of Paiporta — one of the worst affected in the region — while mud and other objects were also thrown at them.
The scenes came amid a growing sense of anger in Spain over a perceived lack of warning about the floods and the level of government support that has been provided to those affected.
King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia in Valencia, Spain, on November 3, 2024.Carlos Lujan/Europa Press via Getty
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Carlos Lujan/Europa Press via Getty
PerThe Guardian, an alert urging residents not to leave home on Oct. 29 was sent after the flood waters began surging.
Queen Letizia and King Felipe VI with residents in Valencia.Carlos Lujan/Europa Press via Getty
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The man also asked Felipe about the alert being sent hours after the state-run weather agency had warned of the worsening conditions.
“They knew it, they knew it, and yet they did nothing,” he shouted at Felipe, per the outlet. “It’s a disgrace.”
Cars piled up after the flash flooding in Valencia.David Ramos/Getty Images
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David Ramos/Getty Images
The monarch appeared to address his visit in a video posted online hours later.
“One has to understand the anger and frustration of many people given all that they have gone through, as well as the difficulty in understanding how all the mechanisms work when it comes to the emergency operations," he told officials in Valencia,The Guardianreported.
“Strength, courage and all the necessary support for all those affected,” he wrote.
The rainfall prompted the most devastating flood in Spain in 30 years and left more than 140,000 people without power in Valencia. It is the deadliest flood since the 1996 flood in the Pyrenees mountains that killed 87 people, per Reuters.
source: people.com
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