Military units in eastern Spain continued the search for missing people Friday after flash floods swept through the region Spain’s deadliest natural disaster in living memory has left at least 205 people dead with untold numbers still missing Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced Saturday that he would be asking for assistance from the European Union’s Solidarity Fund following the deadly floods this week that killed more than 200 people Rescuers were still searching for bodies in stranded cars and sodden buildings on Saturday four days after the monstrous flash floods that swept away everything in their path in the east of Spain An unknown number of people remain missing People clean the street of mud in an area affected by floods in Paiporta A woman stands in her house covered of mud in an area affected by floods in Paiporta People clean the street in an area affected by floods in Paiporta A street covered with mud and debris in an area affected by floods in Valencia A man cleans the street of mud in an area affected by floods in Valencia A doll covered in mud is pictured in an area affected by floods in Valencia A teddy bear covered in mud is pictures in an area affected by floods in Paiporta The windows of a house affected by floods are pictured in Paiporta Children’s drawings hang on the wall of a daycare center showing the water level in area affected by floods in Paiporta The entrance of a garage in an area affected by the floods is pictured in Valencia Cars remain submerged in mud in an area affected by floods in Valencia People clean the street of mud in an area affected by floods in Valencia The water level is visible on a wall next to some family photographs in Paiporta Mud covers the area after last Tuesday and early Wednesday storm that left hundreds dead or missing in Paiporta Emergency service work in an area affected by floods in Valencia People embrace each other in an area affected by floods in Paiporta Mud covers the area in the aftermath last Tuesday and early Wednesday storm that left hundreds dead or missing in Paiporta Vehicles pile up in the streets after flooding caused by late Tuesday and early Wednesday storm that left hundreds dead or missing in Alfafar People’s belongings sit in the mud after floods in Massanassa Volunteers wait after thousands showed up to be assigned work schedules to help with the clean up operation after floods in Valencia Vehicles pile up in the streets caused by late Tuesday and early Wednesday storm that left hundreds dead or missing in Alfafar Vehicles pile up on the train tracks in the aftermath of flooding caused by late Tuesday and early Wednesday storm that left hundreds dead or missing in Alfafar Food and water are given out to residents after floods in Massanassa Piled up cars block a street after floods in Massanassa Spain (AP) — The pictures of the smiling toddlers on the wall somehow survived “We have lost everything,” Xavi Pons told The Associated Press He said the water level was above his head inside what had been the daycare run by his wife’s family for half a century and he pointed to the knee-high mark where the mud reached This had never happened and nobody could have imagined it would,” Pons said Many streets in Paiporta remain impassable to all vehicles but bulldozers stacked as they are with piles of sodden furniture and household items and countless wrecked cars Some people wield poles to steady their step as if walking these streets is a hike through a marsh A washing machine rests on its side among household junk in a church square An enormous tree trunk rests inside a store that is missing a wall all still identifiable among the unrecognizable flotsam trapped in the all-consuming mire watched from her second-story apartment as the usually dry canal that divides the town — “Barranco del Poyo” — went from completely empty to overflowing within 15 minutes She called the aftermath of the flood “a battlefield without bombs.” And it happened without a drop of rain falling on Paiporta The storm had unleashed a downpour upstream That deluge then hurled toward Paiporta and other areas closer to the Mediterranean coast that were devastated by the flash floods The onslaught of water widened the river bank tearing away buildings and a pedestrian bridge stripping the metallic handrails from another bridge and pulling vehicles into the canal Eight wheels are the only parts that remain visible of an overturned truck sunk in Poyo’s muddy bottom Home owner Rafa Rosellón was waiting for heavy equipment to arrive to remove two cars — one half-resting on top of the other — that were washed away by the deluge and landed outside his home He had to unscrew a metal grating and slip though a window to get inside and witness the mess “I can’t do anything until those cars are moved,” Rosellón said “The government forces that could do something either from the regional government or the national government Some 2,000 soldiers are involved in post-flood emergency work — searching for survivors helping clean up and distribute essential goods — as well as 1,800 national police officers and almost 2,500 Civil Guard gendarmes Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said Saturday that they have rescued about 4,800 people and “helped more than 30,000 people in homes on roads and in flooded industrial estates.” Only a small contingent of soldiers was pushing mud in Paiporta on Saturday when Sánchez promised another 5,000 soldiers and 5,000 police were on their way to eastern Spain Just a few doors down from where Rosellón lived a woman sweeping muddy water from her door burst into tears when asked what she had lost Another turn revealed a chilling scene; a street filled with half a dozen cars and criss-crossed with countless reeds that before the flood had been growing nearby A man screams from inside a house: “There’s nothing more I can do Associated Press writer Teresa Medrano contributed from Madrid Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker survivors are left with their grief and anger at the lack of official warning of the devastation on its way SpainThis article is more than 6 months oldIn the town where at least 62 have died Letícia Cardona Teruel set off with her husband and eight-year-old daughter – their rucksacks packed to the brim – to walk the seven kilometres to Valencia The journey gave them a first-hand look at the devastation wreaked by the storm: streets littered with piles of cars and street lights that lay scattered on the ground. “Everything is destroyed,” said Cardona Teruel, speaking to the Guardian by phone. “It’s like a zombie apocalypse that you see in the movies.” This week the quiet commuter town of Paiporta became known across Spain as one of the places to have been worst affected by the country’s deadliest flood in modern history. Of the reported 155 deaths in the region of Valencia, at least 62 – nearly half – occurred in the town, leaving many reeling with grief amid anger that there had been no official alert before water began surging through their town. “There was no warning,” said the town’s mayor, Maribel Albalat. In the absence of any sign that this storm would be different from any other, many residents had gone down to garages beneath their apartments to move their cars to higher ground. “We’re told that that’s where a lot of people were caught,” said Albalat. Later, explaining that the floodwaters had surged just as many residents were at ground level or underground, she was more blunt. “It was a trap,” she told the broadcaster TVE. Read moreAmong the residents who lost their lives were Lourdes María García and her three-month-old baby when the waters started to rise around them People receiving assistance in Paiporta Photograph: Miguel Angel Polo/EPAAs the car began to float Tarazona got out in an attempt to pull the family to safety Instead he found himself swept away by the currents “The currents began to drag the car down,” he told El País “The last thing I saw was them calling for help from the roof of the car.” Police later confirmed that the bodies of García and the baby had been found the floods struck just as residents were having dinner Videos posted online showed them screaming as water came rushing in leaving staff wading frantically through knee-deep waters to carry residents to higher floors Several inhabitants of Paiporta spoke of being caught off guard by the floods given that it hadn’t been raining in the area at the time an English teacher from Manchester living in Paiporta the first inkling that something was wrong came when the electricity shut off Cars piled up after being swept away by floods in Paiporta, near Valencia, Spain on Wednesday 30 October. Photograph: Alberto Saiz/AP“I look out the window and the first thing I see is, literally, cars floating down the street of where I live,” he said. “It was really surreal.” His thoughts immediately turned to his wife and their one-month-old daughter, who were driving back to their flat with his mother-in-law. He tried to call but his phone battery was dead. “I had no idea if they were alive or dead until I could charge my phone via an old laptop.” About three kilometres away, his wife, Florencia Rey, was frantically debating what to do. They had turned on to one street after spotting flooding on another, only to find themselves surrounded by rising waters. Water had started entering the car, filling it rapidly. “The car started to move, even with the brakes on,” said Rey. She wrenched open the door, going through the boot of the car to pull her baby out of the car seat. The three of them waded through three feet of water, eventually making their way to the second floor of a warehouse. During brief bursts of phone coverage they managed to connect with Klarenberg and keep in touch during the eight hours it took before they were rescued by police. Read moreAfter being reunited on Wednesday morning the family was on Thursday safe in their third-floor apartment but without water or reliable access to food “We’ve felt very isolated because there’s no government presence or anything like that,” said Klarenberg sirens but everything that is being done is being done by the community “The situation is catastrophic … We don’t have electricity in some areas; we’re without water and communication is difficult,” she told broadcaster Onda Cero Read moreThe gravity of the floods took most in Paiporta by surprise had launched a red alert for the region on Tuesday morning But it took until just after 8pm for the civil protection service to send an alert urging residents not to leave their homes the official alert came after she had moved her car and waded through knee-deep waters to make it back to her house “Prevention is about getting ahead of what might happen … at no time was there talk of evacuating homes or people not taking their cars You can’t send alerts when the worst has already happened.” SEVILLE, Spain — Last weekend a remarkable scene played out in Paiporta, a town of about 25,000 and a suburb of the metropolis of Valencia on Spain's eastern Mediterranean coastline. Citizens approached the royal couple, King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia, as they toured the damage from last week's storms that left more than 200 dead One woman approached the queen, who looked distressed as protests were heard in the background as another person uploaded the scene onto social media Doña Letizia," the woman said to the queen using the Spanish word of respect to the monarch Another man approached the royal couple and spoke to the king: "This government needs to go that scene is still reverberating across Spain; ordinary citizens aren't usually allowed so close to the royal couple The exchange has become symbolic of the public anger here of the government's response to the deadly storms That public outrage has been growing in the towns devastated by the storm The storm has now become the worst natural disaster in the country's recent memory There is still an unknown number of people missing as rescuers work intensely to access all affected locations accompanied by Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez the president of the autonomous government of the region of Valencia Some people threw mud at the government contingent calling them "murderers," urging them to leave the town immediately On Sunday, after Sánchez was rushed away by his security detail, King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia stayed behind to speak with frustrated citizens. The images from that scene will remain in the memories of Spaniards, and perhaps become an iconic moment for the monarchs who have been struggling to shake off both the unpopular legacy of former King Juan Carlos I and their own reputation for being distant representatives of a non-democratic institution and even though it remains unclear how much of the escalation was the act of far-right groups one thing seems to be clear: the people of the region devastated by the storm are saddened Javier Ruiz Martinez is a reporter for the Spanish radio network Cadena SER He's been on the ground covering the disaster Last Sunday he sent me a series of audio messages while he stood on the streets of Alfafar under an umbrella Images have been spread around the world that show cars piled up on top of each other a bridge swept away by an overflowing river Citizen videos show similar scenes of violent rivers taking over streets in what looks more like a tsunami than what we usually think of as flooding I ask Javier what he has seen that doesn't come through in those images He talks about the possessions that people have lost Sometimes it's seemingly small items: a comic book collection held since childhood study notes from college that had been carefully kept for decades "The rotten smells that overwhelms everyone who comes here The feeling that what's about to come might be even worse than what has already happened." Javier says that watching all of this is also taking a toll on him He tries to remain objective but says he has found himself hugging the survivors after he interviews them Javier says what happened on Sunday with the king and the queen is not completely surprising: "I do think that there is a general feeling of rage among the survivors." Amaia Contel is a teacher based in Valencia Amaia is one of the thousands of volunteers who organized to help with recovery efforts three questions drew a 37-minute long heartbreaking testimony "On Thursday there was already an elaborate system developed by the volunteers to know where to send help and even for survivors to report immediate needs," she said Those volunteers walked for miles to reach devastated areas Amaia said she was on the ground on Saturday and she said when she arrived at the town of Benetússer she saw no firefighters no soldiers: "You realize that no official help has been there yet." The government has deployed thousands of troops But management of the crisis requires collaboration between the regional government of Valencia pointing the finger back at the central government There even seems to be a lack of agreement within the conservative party, with their national leader, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, calling for the central government to intervene directly and Mazón not wanting to give up command of the recovery efforts The official agency that oversees weather events, AEMET started to warn citizens as far back as Oct 24 about the arrival of what's known as a DANA a cut-off lower-pressure storm system that migrates from an unusually wavy and stalled jet stream it was forecast to bring torrential rain to the region But the direct alert that goes to citizens' cell phones sent by the regional government of Valencia By that time the flooding was well underway during rush hour with many citizens on the road going back home The destruction was going to happen regardless but the tremendous human toll might have been avoided Amaia Contel points her finger at the regional government of Mazón She said that seeing what was happening miles away from her spurred her to action and that the solidarity of volunteers like her is what's coming to the rescue of survivors "The slogan that is being used in the social networks "The people will save the people," Amaia said commentators on Spanish radio talked about the efforts by the far-right in Spain to capitalize on this crisis They mention that those groups are now using the same slogan The post-flood recovery crisis has now become deeply political in Spain people argue in cafes and bars over whether Sánchez or Mazón are responsible for the tragedy Become an NPR sponsor the leaf blower war or the anti-'woke' backlash World Subscribers only Germany's Friedrich Merz is embracing pragmatism World Subscribers only Trump-Carney meeting: Canada seeks reconciliation World Subscribers only Friedrich Merz bets on two private sector converts to revive the German economy and reform the state World Subscribers only Founder of Sant'Egidio community fears next pope could undo Francis's legacy Opinion Subscribers only 'Russian gas and Europe is an old story that ended badly Economy Subscribers only Europe's steel industry flattened by crisis World Subscribers only How European countries plan to fund defense efforts France Subscribers only Macron announces citizens' convention on school schedules France Subscribers only 21 charged over French prison attacks as investigation narrows in on drug traffickers France Subscribers only French mosque stabber was driven by 'morbid fascination,' prosecutor says France Subscribers only At the trial of Kim Kardashian's robbers Videos World expos: From Paris 1855 to Osaka 2025 Videos How the Trump administration is attacking scientific research in the US Videos Tesla cars set on fire in Las Vegas as calls to boycott Musk's company grow worldwide Videos Can France's nuclear deterrent protect Europe Opinion Subscribers only 'The American dream is dying' Opinion Subscribers only John Bolton: 'The term chaos is commonly used to describe the top of the Defense Department' Opinion Subscribers only 'It is pointless to imagine a significant wave of American academics leaving' Magazine Subscribers only Tracking down the pianos taken from French Jews during the Nazi Occupation Magazine Subscribers only Eve Rodsky the American helping couples balance the mental load Magazine Subscribers only Desecration or more glory Joan Didion's private diaries are revealed Magazine Subscribers only For Jewish cartoonist Joann Sfar 2025."> Pixels Subscribers only Golden Owl solution is revealed but leaves players of 31-year hunt disappointed Pixels Subscribers only Secrets of decades-long Golden Owl treasure hunt to be revealed Lifestyle Inside Chanel's French leather workshops Culture Subscribers only The marvelous bronzes of Angkor on display at the Musée Guimet in Paris FeatureThe city on the southern outskirts of Valencia was devastated by a sudden wave of mud almost 2 meters high Tales of tragedy and acts of courage intertwine in a community in a state of shock with the lady over there." These are the dead in his street pieces of tar and cars that swept through the town of Paiporta It caused immense damage and killed at least 62 people in the town almost a third of the total number of victims recorded in the Valencia region (155) Cambronero is 66 years old and has never been in such a desperate situation He was with his daughter and two grandchildren blocking the doors of the houses from the outside The adults in the family formed a chain to carry the children out through the window to a neighbor's slightly higher window Those with steel security grills on the first floor couldn't get out of whom there are many in this town on the southern outskirts of Valencia The toll in the town and the surrounding area is dreadful It is still provisional – as of Thursday afternoon bodies were still being pulled from basements and garages and dozens of missing persons were still being counted by the authorities Some of them may have been swept out to sea The violence of the flooding caused by exceptional rainfall upstream the power of the waters pouring down from the hills which reached 2 meters across the entire city You have 73.45% of this article left to read Lecture du Monde en cours sur un autre appareil Vous pouvez lire Le Monde sur un seul appareil à la fois Ce message s’affichera sur l’autre appareil Parce qu’une autre personne (ou vous) est en train de lire Le Monde avec ce compte sur un autre appareil Vous ne pouvez lire Le Monde que sur un seul appareil à la fois (ordinateur En cliquant sur « Continuer à lire ici » et en vous assurant que vous êtes la seule personne à consulter Le Monde avec ce compte Que se passera-t-il si vous continuez à lire ici Ce dernier restera connecté avec ce compte Vous pouvez vous connecter avec votre compte sur autant d’appareils que vous le souhaitez mais en les utilisant à des moments différents Nous vous conseillons de modifier votre mot de passe. Votre abonnement n’autorise pas la lecture de cet article Pour plus d’informations, merci de contacter notre service commercial. Notifications can be managed in browser preferences. ‘Everyone in the town of Paiporta knows of someone who has died’ I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Dani Sorní, a 22-year-old resident of Paiporta, the epicentre of the disaster, described the grave conditions. “This town is a cemetery, with bodies trapped under a metre-and-a-half of mud and under cars,” he told The Independent With the final death toll feared to be 400 survivors described a “tsunami” of water trapping victims in their cars and their fury over poor planning and slow response by authorities Three days have passed since torrential waters swept through the Paiporta community leaving behind a scene of unimaginable destruction with streets buried under thick sludge and crushed vehicles piled high Located just six miles from Valencia’s centre, this town has been transformed from a peaceful community into what feels like a war zone overnight. The floods, triggered by an intense weather system known as Dana have shocked the community that is home to around 25,000 people Dani, a factory worker, said: “We have been abandoned. We are still waiting for aid to come forcing thousands into the streets in search of essential supplies And all the supermarkets have been looted,” Dani said and everyone knows of someone who has died.” As people continue to try and recover the last remnants of their lives in the town frustration and despair have enveloped residents who have accused the government of delaying aid supplies “We don’t know anything about when help will arrive We feel abandoned and neglected,” Dani said The emotional toll of the situation weighs heavily on him “It’s hard to sleep knowing that there are still dead people trapped out there,” he said Among the dead in Paiporta were six residents of a care home on the outskirts of town they were trapped in their rooms when the lower floors were inundated Distressing images from that moment went viral Dani said: “We’ve found the body of a woman hugging her three-month-old dead baby Neighbours had to remove the body themselves because we haven’t received help yet.” He explained that many residents were caught off guard scrambling to save themselves and their belongings Dozens are believed to be trapped under car garages “We’ve seen people sitting outside their homes waiting for forensic teams to come and take the body of their relative,” he said “Everything that is ground level has been erased The lack of clean water is particularly troubling, as it poses significant health risks after the flooding. Dani added: “We’re all day covered in mud and dirt, and we have been drinking water even if it’s not potable. We’re collecting water that’s left in the garages to flush the toilet. “We don’t know how long it will take for the government to bring us water supplies. We don’t know anything.” As rescue teams work tirelessly to recover the dead and assist the living in other towns, Dani warned that the “worst disaster is yet to come”. “When the services come and start moving cars, the number of deceased will increase. Nothing has been moved yet,” he said. “Everything is destroyed. We are destroyed.” Meanwhile, a new red alert was issued in the southern province of Huelva on Friday, where residents have been told to stay at home ahead of intense rainfall. Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies My town is a cemetery’: Spanish flood victim reveals horror in town where 62 have died","description":"‘Everyone in the town of Paiporta knows of someone who has died’ You don't have permission to access the page you requested What is this page?The website you are visiting is protected.For security reasons this page cannot be displayed People clear mud from a street in an area affected by floods in Catarroja A “Falla” figure structure made of cardboard and other materials is damaged in an area affected by floods in Catarroja A firefighter sits on a dingy waiting to enter a flooded underground car park in the MN4 shopping centre as the search for bodies continues on the outskirts of Valencia A person walks in the mud after floods in Paiporta Two people hug each other after floods on the outskirts of Valencia A woman cries by a window after floods in Paiporta A man looks at the damage and debris in front of a house a affected by floods in Alfafar Volunteers carry buckets of mud after floods in Paiporta Emergency services remove cars in an area affected by floods in Catarroja A soldier works in an area affected by floods in Catarroja Vehicles trapped after the floods are pictured in an area affected by floods in Catarroja A woman sweeps away mud after floods in Paiporta People clean mud from a street affected by floods People clean mud from a house affected by floods Items covered in mud are pictured in an area affected by floods People react as Spain’s King Felipe VI speaks with people amidst angry Spanish flood survivors in Paiporta Spain’s Queen Letizia next to Spain’s King Felipe VI speaks with a woman affected by the floods in Paiporta (Carlos Luján/Europa Press via AP) **SPAIN OUT** Angry Spanish flood survivors confront King Felipe VI in the devastated town of Paiporta walks amidst angry Spanish flood survivors in Paiporta A rescue worker checks a car after floods in Paiporta near Valencia A car sticks out of a garage with debris after flooding in Valencia Volunteers return from helping affected municipalities four days after flash floods swept away everything in their path in the town of Paiporta Volunteers walk back to Valencia city passing near La Torre on the outskirts of Valencia after floods Volunteers and residents clean the mud four days after flash floods swept away everything in their path in Paiporta A woman walks through a street affected by floods in Paiporta Cars sit on a plot used to store damaged vehicles four days after flash floods swept away everything in their path in the town of Benetússer A civil guard searches for survivors in vehicles piled up on the outskirts of Valencia A man reacts in an area affected by floods with cars piled up in the background in Benetusser A man walks on a mud-covered road after flooding in Valencia People clear away mud from inside a flood damaged cemetery on the outskirts of Valencia Damage is seen inside a cemetery on the outskirts of Valencia Cars are seen half submerged after floods in Valencia Damaged cars are seen outside a shopping centre after floods in Valencia People pick up goods in a supermarket affected by the floods in Valencia Vehicles are seen piled up after being swept away by floods in Valencia Residents carry their belongings as they leave their houses affected by floods in Valencia Flooded cars piled up are pictured in Valencia A man stands among flooded cars piled up in Valencia A man stands next to houses affected by floods in Valencia People walk past flooded cars piled up in Valencia Mud covers a bicycle and various belongings in Valencia People clean their houses affected by floods in Valencia A woman cleans her house affected by floods in Valencia A man cleans his house hit by floods in Utiel A man cleans his house affected by floods in Utiel A man reacts in front of houses affected by floods in Utiel People clean their houses affected by floods in Utiel A man walks inside of a supermarket affected by the floods in Valencia A man reacts in front his house affected by floods in Utiel Residents clean the street next to cars piled up after being swept away by floods in Valencia A man carrying water walks through flooded streets in Valencia People walk through flooded streets in Valencia Members of emergency services and Guardia Civil rescue people trapped in their homes after floods in Letur Members of the Spanish army and emergency services rescue people trapped in their homes after floods in Letur A man cleans his house affected by floods in Valencia A woman looks out from her balcony as vehicles are trapped in the street during flooding in Valencia Residents walk through flooded streets in Valencia Residents look at cars piled up after being swept away by floods in Valencia A man walks through flooded streets in Valencia A woman walks through flooded streets in Valencia Emergency crew rescue residents after they were trapped in their homes following flooding in Valencia Emergency teams rescue a person who was stranded by the water in a Guardia Civil helicopter after the floods preceded by heavy rains that caused the overflow of the river in the town of Alora after floods preceded by heavy rains caused the river to overflow its banks in the town of Alora A man observes several cars being swept away by the water This is a collection of photos chosen by AP photo editors Spain’s king on Sunday vowed to “give hope” to the communities affected by the unprecedented floods in the country which have left more than 200 dead and thousands of livelihoods shattered Spain’s King Felipe VI speaks with people amidst angry Spanish flood survivors in Paiporta Spain’s Queen Letizia speaks with people affected by the floods after crowd of angry survivors of Spain’s floods tossed mud and shouted insults at the Spain’s King Felipe and government officials when they made their first visit to one of the hardest hit towns Spain’s King Felipe VI listens to a person affected by the floods after a crowd of angry survivors of Spain’s floods tossed mud and shouted insults at the King and government officials when they made their first visit to one of the hardest hit towns after floods in Paiporta near Valencia It was the officials’ first visit to the devastated area Sticky brown globs hit Felipe on the face and all over his black jacket while Queen Letizia’s hands were streaked with the mud that still coats street after street of the southern outskirts of Valencia city Many in the crowd wielded the shovels they are using to dig out their homes The anger appeared directed not at the king specifically but at the entire state for its management of the worst natural disaster in Spain’s living memory The government is also saying there were far-right agitators among the locals implying they wanted to go after the Socialist prime minister professor of constitutional law at the International University of Catalonia the shocking sight of a muddied monarch could set a precedent for more fervent protests since “never had such anger been shown to the king.” Monarchists like Nebrera and even republicans agreed that Felipe some of whom screamed “Get out!” and “Killers!” Letizia has likewise been praised for staying put and speaking with distraught people “It could go down as the greatest day of Felipe’s reign,” Oriol Bartomeus a political science professor at the Autonomous University of Barcelona “If he had sought protection from his bodyguards and run away now that would have been the darkest day of his reign and by getting as close as he could to the people.” There is no doubt it was the most memorable moment of his reign The 56-year-old Felipe took over a Royal House whose reputation was in tatters after the financial and lifestyle scandals of his father Juan Carlos was loved or at least grudgingly respected after helping Spain’s restoration of democracy after the death of dictator Francisco Franco He was seen as down to earth and fun-loving compared to other European royals to help him run a relatively frugal palace in a nation where republican sentiment is strong Felipe heard some jeers when he took part in a tribute to the dead of the 2017 terror attack in Barcelona but that was nothing compared to Sunday’s reception Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez was whisked away by his security detail after he also was pelted Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said “there was a clear danger and (Sánchez) had received a blow.” The back window of the prime minister’s car was broken The minister did not specify what hit the prime minister One of Letizia’s bodyguards had a bloody forehead An investigative judge has opened a preliminary probe into possible assault Felipe stood his ground for over half an hour but he spoke to several shouting people in an intimate and apparently serious tone who said he is not a fervent defender of the monarchy noted what the king didn’t do: He didn’t appear to patronize the people like for example you see the British royals do,” Bartomeus said got down off the pedestal and went down to the people who were telling him that the state had not arrived Felipe attended a gathering of the heads of the emergency response in Valencia He asked them to give “hope to those affected by the flood and attend to their needs guaranteeing that the state is there for them.” On Monday he presided over the government’s crisis committee at a military airbase outside Madrid In going to Paiporta with elected officials Felipe has created the impression that he has a real role to play in managing the gargantuan recovery effort when his powers are mostly representing Spain on state visits and playing an institutional role in the post-election process “If there already existed a certain confusion among some people as to what powers the king has now he runs the danger of people thinking he is responsible for something which he is not,” she said “It is very likely that regardless of how many meetings he presides over there will be nothing but more bad news coming from Valencia They are only going to find more and more of the dead.” splatters her leggings and the gloves holding her broom The mire covering Alicia Montero is the signature uniform of the impromptu army of volunteers who for a third day Friday shoveled and swept out the muck and debris that filled the small town of Chiva in Valencia after flash floods swept through the region Spain’s deadliest natural disaster in living memory has left at least 205 people dead with untold numbers still missing READ MORE: At least 158 killed in Spain’s catastrophic floods as authorities continue search for bodies As police and emergency workers continue the grim search for bodies authorities appear overwhelmed by the enormity of the disaster and survivors are relying on the esprit de corps of volunteers who have rushed in to fill the void While hundreds of people in cars and on foot have been streaming in from Valencia city to the suburbs to help Montero and her friends are locals of Chiva where at least seven people died when Tuesday’s storm unleashed its fury It moves me to see my town in this shape,” Montero tells The Associated Press She says she barely avoided the floods when she was driving home Tuesday and that if she had got on the road five minutes later she believes she would have been swept away like dozens of cars still stranded on the highway that crosses a flood plain between her town and the city of Valencia about 30 kilometers (18 miles) to the east Tractors roar through Chiva’s narrow streets only briefly stopping or slowing to allow people to toss broken doors shattered furniture and other debris into the beds before churning their way up away from the epicenter of the destruction Residents and volunteers meanwhile shovel and sweep out the layers of mud that coat the floors of the ruined shops and homes People carry buckets of water from a large ornamental pool in a town square to wash away the mire Three young boys take a break to kick a soccer ball around on the slippery street Newcomers are easy to spot because they are clean but a few steps down Chiva’s slippery cobblestones and they are quickly marked with mud while taking a breather from cleaning near a gorge that was filled with a crushing wall of water just days earlier “As much mud in the streets as if the waters had but newly retired from the face of the earth,” is Charles Dickens’ description of 19th century London in his novel “Bleak House.” In Chiva and other parts of Valencia — Paiporta Alfafar — mud has become synonymous with death and destruction The mire flowed into houses and crawled into cars smashing some vehicles apart and easily lifting and moving others People walk amid piled up cars on a mud-covered street in the aftermath of torrential rains that caused flooding The storm this week unleashed more rain on Chiva in eight hours than the town had experienced in the preceding 20 months The deluge powered a flood that knocked down two of the four bridges in the town The waters have now receded and the Civil Guard divers are gone concerned that the mud could be hiding more bodies We don’t know if there were people inside or not,” Mayor Amparo Fort told RNE radio There are so many people coming to help the hardest-hit areas that the authorities have asked them not to drive or walk there because they are blocking the roads needed by the emergency services “It is very important that you return home,” said regional President Carlos Mazón who thanked the volunteers for their goodwill The regional government has asked volunteers to gather at a large cultural center in the city Saturday morning to organize work crews and transport Electricity was at last restored for Chiva’s 20,000 residents on Thursday night Local governments have been distributing water food and basic necessities in towns across Valencia affected by the flash floods and the Red Cross is using its vast network of aid to help those affected A woman sweeps mud off the street following heavy rains that caused floods the Civil Guard police officers have been searching collapsed houses and the gorge for bodies Firefighters are helping ensure buildings were safe Some 500 soldiers have been deployed in the Valencia region to deliver water and essential goods to those in need where the wave of solidarity among average citizens underscores the dearth of official help The vibe is one of townsfolk just getting on with it which has been transformed into a supply depot The theater is filled with piles of water bottles and fruit One group of young men arrive and drop off bottled water before picking up shovels and brooms and joining the fray a sign says everyone is allowed to take two bottles of water a day Cleaning out the bakery that has been in her family for five generations María Teresa Sánchez hopes it can continue but she is not sure if her 100-year-old oven can be salvaged “Chiva will take a long time to recover from this,” she said “But it is true that we have not felt alone And at the end that is really what we embrace that spirit of being a town that is isolated and nobody has come to help Associated Press writers Colleen Barry in Milan and Jamey Keaten in Geneva © 1996 - 2025 NewsHour Productions LLC PBS is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization Subscribe to Here's the Deal with Lisa Desjardins Nov 3 (EFE).- Spain’s King Felipe VI was confronted by angry crowds during his visit Sunday to Paiporta one of the worst-affected towns by the storm and subsequent floods that struck the Valencia region last week which began dumping historic amounts of rain on Monday night caused devastating floods that have killed more than 210 people and Valencia’s regional president Carlos Mazón where relief and cleanup work was still ongoing to find missing people and clear water and mud from people’s homes Footage online shows an angry crowd booing insulting and throwing mud at the King and his entourage as he walks through the streets of Paiporta Shouts of “murderers,” “shame” and “get out” could be heard in the footage which also showed a young man telling the king that the state’s response to the disaster had been “a disgrace.” the prime minister and the Valencian president have all been evacuated from the area while the king remained to continue speaking with the flood victims The disaster is the worst to hit Spain in over a century Many are angry at delays with weather and emergency warnings as the storm hit the area last week as well as at the perceived slow response time by authorities Sánchez announced Saturday that he had ordered 10,000 additional police officers and soldiers to assist with the rescue work weather warnings for severe rain and thunderstorms remained in effect for much of Spain’s east coast Two people push a cart loaded with belongings in Valencia Vehicles are seen piled up after being swept away by floods on a motorway in Valencia Spain (AP) — Moments after rushing waters burst through the door to her home Mari Carmen Pérez received a text message alert from regional Spanish authorities warning her of the possibility of flash floods the water has already gushed into her kitchen forcing her and her family to flee upstairs “They didn’t have any idea of what was going on,” Pérez said Thursday by phone from Barrio de la Torre in Valencia The massive number of dead — easily making the floods the worst natural disaster in Spain in living memory — has raised questions about how this could happen in a European Union country that excels in public safety As rescuers continued to pull bodies from the mud and debris Thursday anger also began to grow among the families and friends mourning lost loved ones and many more thousands whose livelihoods have been shattered by the deluge The streets were full of people walking to procure basic supplies with their cars ruined and the streets undrivable because of the mud and debris The Valencian regional government is being criticized for not sending out flood warnings to mobile phones until 8 p.m when the flooding had already started in some places and well after the national weather agency issued a red alert indicating heavy rains defended his administration’s management of the crisis saying “all our supervisors followed the standard protocol” that was coordinated by Spain’s central government Spain’s Interior Ministry said in a statement that regional administrations are responsible for sending alerts to warn the population of possible flooding and other natural disasters Mazón is also under fire for his announcement at 1:00 p.m on Tuesday that the storm front would “lose strength” by 6:00 p.m Spain’s national weather agency had alerted officials and the public via its website and social media on Sunday that there was a 70% chance of torrential rain ahead mayor of the Valencian village of L’Alcudia told national broadcaster RTVE that his town lost at least two residents a daughter and her elderly mother who lived together and that police were still searching for a missing truck driver He complained that he and his townsfolk had no warning of the disaster that struck when the Magro River overflowed “I myself was on my way to check the river level because I had no information,” Salom said “I went with the local police but we had to turn back because a tsunami of water reeds and dirt was already entering the town.” Cars were still driving along streets when the Valencian town was hit where the impact of the floods was particularly devastating due to a ravine running through its centre The number of people who have died in the Valencia region has risen to more than 200 ShareSaveWhy this Conclave means it's harder than ever to predict the next PopeThe BBC's religion editor Aleem Maqbool explains why it's so difficult to guess who will be the next pontiff. 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Moment missile lands in Ukrainian city of SumyFootage shows moment missile lands in Ukrainian city of Sumy Watch: Pope seen without usual papal attirePope Francis visits St Peter's Basilica in the Vatican, still with an oxygen tube, as he continues to recover from ill health. your new go-to podcast to spice up your weekday mornings with relevant news and behind-the-scenes from Brussels and beyond From the economy to the climate and the EU's role in world affairs this talk show sheds light on European affairs and the issues that impact on our daily lives as Europeans Tune in to understand the ins and outs of European politics Dare to imagine the future with business and tech visionaries Deep dive conversations with business leaders Euronews Tech Talks goes beyond discussions to explore the impact of new technologies on our lives the podcast provides valuable insights into the intersection of technology and society Europe's water is under increasing pressure floods are taking their toll on our drinking water Join us on a journey around Europe to see why protecting ecosystems matters and to discover some of the best water solutions an animated explainer series and live debate - find out why Water Matters We give you the latest climate facts from the world’s leading source analyse the trends and explain how our planet is changing We meet the experts on the front line of climate change who explore new strategies to mitigate and adapt An angry crowd threw mud and yelled insults at the Spanish royals and government officials upon their arrival to Paiporta one of the hardest hit towns on the outskirt of Valencia city by last week's floods that killed at least 211 people Security officials held up umbrellas for the for the royals and officials to project them from the flying objects while the crowd yelled insults such as "murderers!" and "get out Local police also had to step in with officers on horseback to keep the crowd at bay Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez left the scene following the heckling with Valencia President Carlos Mazon following shortly after Queen Letizia and King Felipe stayed behind with the monarch determined to talk and listen to the residents of Paiporta the royals were escorted away by police officials King Felipe and Queen Letizia met and spoke with emergency response teams of the region another heavily impacted town near the city of Valencia Dear Reader,Unfortunately our comment platform isn\'t available at the moment due to issues with our paywall and authentication vendor Spanish authorities say that 89 people are confirmed to be missing one week after the catastrophic floods in the eastern Valencia region Spain — Francisco Murgui went out to try to salvage his motorbike when the water started to rise One week after catastrophic flooding devastated eastern Spain María Murgui still holds out hope that her missing father is alive “He was like many people in town who went out to get their car or motorbike to safety,” the 27-year-old told The Associated Press and he had to cling to a tree in order to escape drowning But when María set out into the streets of Sedaví to try to rescue him from the water washing away everything in its path “He held up until 1 in the morning,” she said I went outside with a neighbor and a rope to try to locate him Spanish authorities issued their first tally of the missing on Tuesday when a Valencia court said that 89 people are confirmed to be unaccounted for The number only corresponds to the eastern Valencia region, where 211 of the 217 confirmed deaths took place when entire communities were swamped by tsunami-like floods on Oct. 29-30. Most people were caught off guard by the deluge. Regional authorities have been heavily criticized for having issued alerts to mobile phones some two hours after the disaster had started The Superior Court of Valencia said that the figure was based on those cases whereby families had provided information and biological samples of their unlocated loved ones It added that there could easily be more missing people whose families have not officially reported to authorities The court said that 133 of the dead had been identified using fingerprints or DNA samples Spanish state broadcaster RTVE has shown a steady stream of appeals by people searching for family members María Murgui herself has posted a missing person’s message on social media with a photo of her father Sometimes I feel very bad and sometimes I feel better the gargantuan recovery efforts in Sedaví and dozens of other communities slowly moved forward The central government on Tuesday approved a 10.6-billion-euro ($11.6-billion) relief package for 78 communities where at least one person has died from the floods Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez compared it to the measures taken during the COVID-19 pandemic The package includes direct payments of 20,000 euros to 60,000 euros ($21,800-65,000) to owners of damaged homes and financial aid for businesses and municipal governments Sánchez said he will ask the European Union to help pay for the relief saying “it is time for the European Union to help.” The floods have left behind post-apocalyptic scenes In town after town, streets are still covered with thick brown mud and mounds of ruined belongings clumps of rotting vegetation and wrecked vehicles people still face shortages of basic goods and lines form at impromptu emergency kitchens and stands handing out food Water is running again but authorities say it is not fit for drinking The ground floors of thousands of homes have been ruined It is feared that inside some of the vehicles that were washed away or trapped in underground garages there could be bodies waiting to be recovered Thousands of soldiers are working with firefighters and police reinforcements in the immense emergency response Officers and troops are searching in destroyed homes and in the countless cars strewn across highways and streets or lodged in the mud in canals and gorges Authorities are worried about other health problems in the aftermath of the deadliest natural disaster in Spain's recent history They have urged people to get tetanus shots to treat any wounds to prevent infections and to clean the mud from their skin Thousands of volunteers are helping out, but frustration over the crisis management boiled over on Sunday when a crowd in hard-hit Paiporta hurled mud and other objects at Spain’s royals It was their first visit to the epicenter of the flood damage by DAVID MELERO and JOSEPH WILSON | The Associated Press Spain's national broadcaster reported that the barrage included a few rocks and other objects and that two bodyguards were treated for injuries One could be seen with a bloody wound on his forehead It was an unprecedented incident for a royal house that carefully crafts the image of monarchs adored by their country of more than 48 million people The fury had been unleashed against a state that appears overwhelmed and unable to meet the needs of people used to living under an effective government Officials also rushed Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez from the scene soon after his contingent started to walk the mud-covered streets of one of the hardest-hit areas where over 60 people perished and thousands of lives were shattered The disaster fueled by climate change killed at least 205 people in eastern Spain Get out!” and “Killers!” the crowd in the town of Paiporta shouted Bodyguards opened umbrellas to protect the royals and other officials from the tossed muck Queen Letizia broke into tears sympathetically after speaking to several people one of the queen's bodyguards had a bloody wound on his forehead But even after being forced to seek protection remained calm and made several efforts to speak to individual residents He insisted on trying to speak with people as he tried to continue his visit patting two young men on their backs and sharing a quick embrace one woman smacked an official car with an umbrella and another kicked it before it sped off While far from awakening the passion that the British hold for their royals Felipe and Letizia’s public events are usually greeted by crowds of fans The 56-year-old Felipe took the throne when his father abdicated in 2014 after he was tarnished by self-made financial and personal scandals renouncing his personal inheritance and increasing the financial transparency of his royal house dedicate a significant part of their public agenda to cultural and scientific causes Visits to sites of national tragedies are also part of the royal duties for monarchs seen as a stabilizing force in a parliamentary monarchy restored following the death of dictator Francisco Franco in 1975 But the public rage over the haphazard management of the crisis has been building Felipe heard some jeers when he took part in a tribute to the dead of a deadly 2017 terror attack in Barcelona but that was nothing comparable to Sunday's reception The queen had small glops of mud on her hands and arms as she spoke to women “We don´t have any water,” one woman told her Many people still don’t have drinking water five days after the floods struck Internet and mobile phone coverage remains patchy Most people only got power back on Saturday Stores and supermarkets are in ruins and Paiporta still has many city blocks completely clogged with piles of detritus countless totaled cars and a ubiquitous layer of mud Thousands have had their homes destroyed by a tsunami-like wave of muck and indignation at mismanagement of the disaster has begun The floods had already hit Paiporta when the regional officials issued an alert to mobile phones More anger has been fueled by the inability of officials to respond quickly to the aftermath Most of the cleanup of the layers and layers of mud and debris that has invaded countless homes has been done by residents and thousands of volunteers “We have lost everything!” someone shouted Shouts Sunday included demands aimed at regional Valencia President Carlo Mazón whose administration is in charge of civil protection “I understand the indignation and of course The attitude of the king this morning was exemplary.” Spanish national broadcaster RTVE reported that the barrage aimed at the royals included a few rocks and other hard objects were tossed and that two bodyguards were treated for injuries and the monarchs and officials called off another stop Sunday at a second hard-hit village about half an hour to the east of Valencia city where dozens of people have been confirmed dead and many more missing after huge rains swept the eastern province of Valencia Europe correspondent Bethany Bell spoke to residents in the area who described the 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Four days have passed since the tsunami-like wave of water tore through Spanish towns and with at least 60 of the 213 confirmed deaths in Paiporta local media is calling the town 'ground zero' of the catastrophic flooding authorities appear overwhelmed by the enormity of the disaster and survivors are relying on the goodwill of volunteers who have rushed in to fill the void and help with clean-up operations As I have family in Alicante and a lot of friends here in Valencia I flew in here to try to help everybody," said Luis Javier Gonzalez a volunteer who flew to Paiporta from the United States There are way more people helping than government personnel And then I started to see the extent of the disaster and so many sad stories And then I felt so useless and decided to come and help take a shower and have a plate with hot food Authorities issued an order on Sunday restricting pedestrian movement and access to 12 municipalities impacted by flooding in Valencia aimed at reducing risks and supporting emergency response operations Access will be limited to those who need to visit health centres Those who work in the area or are returning to their homes or family residences will also be permitted entry Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez visited the headquarters of the Military Emergencies Unit (UME) at the Torrejon de Ardoz Air Base near Madrid with the Minister of Defence Sánchez was able to see first-hand the work the UME has been carrying out since last Tuesday which focuses mainly on tasks such as rescuing people and clearing debris the Prime Minister confirmed that an additional 10,000 troops will be deployed to the hardest-hit eastern province of Valencia where the damage from the storm resembled that of a tsunami The 5,000 soldiers and 5,000 police officers will join the 2,000 soldiers and 1,800 police officers who are already at present in the region Sánchez also asked for support from the European Union to help Spain recover from what he called "the most serious flooding that our continent has seen so far this century." "We are in communication with the European Commission and that we have begun the procedures to request aid from the European Solidarity Fund and the use of other community support resources from the European Union," he said in a news conference in Madrid Rescue teams continue their search for missing people as officials fear more bodies may be trapped in wrecked vehicles and flooded garages Spanish emergency officials said the majority of the victims were in the eastern region of Valencia and warn that more rain is expected in the coming days Essential digital access to quality FT journalism on any device Complete digital access to quality FT journalism with expert analysis from industry leaders Complete digital access to quality analysis and expert insights complemented with our award-winning Weekend Print edition Terms & Conditions apply Discover all the plans currently available in your country Digital access for organisations. Includes exclusive features and content. See why over a million readers pay to read the Financial Times. Over 60 people perished in Paiporta when a wave of water rushed down the Poyo canal The mangled car in which Jorge Tarazona’s three-year-old niece and sister-in-law perished in last week’s catastrophic flooding in Spain now hangs halfway off the ragged edge of a highway His brother managed to survive, clinging to a fence. He and his family had been caught in traffic driving home to Paiporta on Valencia’s southern outskirts, Tarazona said. They had no chance to escape when the tsunami-like wave quickly overflowed the nearby drainage canal and swept away everything in its path. “They did not have time to do anything,” Mr Tarazona told The Associated Press, a week after the 29 October flash floods. “My brother was dragged away and ended up clinging to a fence.” His sister-in-law “could not get out and died with her little girl”. Mr Tarazona had ridden a bike back to the site and taped a note on the car asking for whoever eventually removed the wreck off the side of the highway, to call him. “It all happened so fast,” he said, tears coming to his eyes. “In half an hour the current had carried away the car. There was no time, no time. She managed to send me the location of their car hoping for a rescue. “The next day she was found dead inside,” he said. It’s unclear if the two are included in the official toll of the 217 confirmed dead as fatalities tick up, eight days after the deadliest floods in Spain this century. Paiporta has been labelled by Spanish media as the “ground zero” of the natural disaster that has also left 89 people still missing, while officials say the real figure could be higher. Over 60 people perished in Paiporta when a wave of water rushed down the Poyo canal that cuts through its centre. Frustration over the survivors’ sense of abandonment exploded in Paiporta on Sunday when a crowd greeted Spain’s royals and officials with a barrage of mud and other objects. Prime minister Pedro Sanchez was rushed away and the royal couple had to eventually cancel the visit after speaking to several distraught neighbours amid a chaotic scene. The Civil Guard said they rescued two people who had been trapped in their Paiporta home, almost a miraculous exception among the tragedy. The mayor of Paiporta, a middle-class community of 30,000, pleaded on Tuesday for a “higher authority” to step in and take control of her municipality because the floods had made it impossible to go on. Mayor Maribel Albalat said all the municipal buildings, from the town hall to the local police, had been severely damaged and that many of the local civil servants “are in a state of shock”. “Paiporta is a strong village, but this overwhelms our capacities as a local administration,” she said. The air-throbbing “thup, thup, thup” of the huge, two-propeller Chinook helicopters that have flown overhead with the arrival of the army has added to the post-apocalyptic atmosphere. The destruction, however, went far beyond Paiporta and covered a huge swath of municipalities, above all on the southern flank of Valencia city on the Mediterranean coast. Seventy-eight localities had at least one person die from the floods. Police have expanded their search to the nearby marshes and coastline, where the waters carried some away. The residents, businesses and town councils of the affected localities can apply for financial help from a €10.6bn (£8.8bn) relief package from Spain’s government. The regional Valencia government, which is being slammed for not alerting the populace of the danger in time, has asked the central government in Madrid for €31bn to ensure the recovery. Over a week later, the clean-up goes on to get rid of tons of mud and debris that clog street after street, filling thousands of ground floors, and destroying living rooms and kitchens. Neighbourhoods were left without shops and supermarkets after all their products were ruined. Many houses still don´t have drinking water. An impromptu army of volunteers were the first helpers on the ground, shovelling and sweeping away the sticky brown mire covering everything, and helping to start removing pile after pile of debris that made access to cars impossible in many areas. Authorities eventually mobilised 15,000 soldiers and police reinforcements to help firefighters search for bodies and start extracting thousands of wrecked cars strewn over streets and sunk in canal beds. At every corner, cars are piled on top of one another or smashed into buildings, light poles, trees and bridge overpasses. “There is still so much to do,” said volunteer Juanma Baztan Lopez, who is helping churn through the muck in Catarroja, which borders on Paiporta, in his four-wheel drive. He has helped transport doctors to people in need, deliver essential products, and tow away wrecked cars. “It will take a year to get this back to normal,” he said. Jorge Tarazona attaches a poster to a car in Paiporta, Valencia, Spain Mission Statement: to assist the integration of foreign residents living in Spain and this is never more accurate than when you establish yourself as a foreign resident in a new country Being able to quickly familiarise yourself with the culture and customs can help ease the transition during a challenging time This is why Euro Weekly News makes it our mission to provide you with a free news resource in English that covers both regional and national Spanish news – anything that we feel you will benefit from knowing as you integrate into your new community and live your best life in Spain you can forget about translating articles from Spanish into awkward English that probably don’t make much sense Let us be your convenient and essential guide to all things that will likely affect you as a foreign resident living in Spain The planned visit by the Spanish King and political leaders to Paiporta has been interrupted and the visit to Chiva has been cancelled after levels of tension and anger following the disastrous effects of DANA went out of control King Felipe VI, his wife Letizia, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and representatives of the Valencian autonomous government were met with extreme opposition as protestors and enraged civilians shouted insults and threw objects at the party the King and his wife; Pedro Sánchez and members of the Generalitat Valenciana (Valencian government) – including President Carlos Mázon and delegate Pilar Bernabé – visited the most devastated municipality in the region: Paiporta located within the metropolitan area of Valencia City a municipality located in the Hoya de Buñol-Chiva región a little further away from Valencia City and another area highly affected by the recent flooding hundreds of people gathered at the arrival of the esteemed party throwing mud and insulting the leaders the Prime Minister was attacked with a spade by one member of the public as people chanted “Murderers” repeatedly and “Pedro Sánchez where are you?” after Spain suffered one of its worst natural catastrophes in history Over 200 people have so far been killed by the extreme flooding provoked by the storm whilst hundreds of others remain unaccounted for livelihoods and vehicles have been totally destroyed as well as important infrastructures As emergency services work tirelessly to rescue victims and bodies from the wreckage many Spanish citizens express disgust at the management of the disaster and the lack of warning given before torrential rains took hold of several municipalities in the region of Valencia Amid the chaos and opposition from citizens the Guardia Civil had to cordon off certain areas to keep the crowd under control Despite being bombarded by insults and violence directed at the royal family and at political leaders while Pedro Sánchez was forced to evacuate the area and take refuge The King had decided to maintain his visit to Chiva expecting an equally unwelcome entry into the municipality the visit was later cancelled due to extreme risk The decision for Spain’s major leaders was made by state authorities regional authorities and by the Royal Palace following the violent tension in Paiporta The King and Mázon had withstood the insults and angry backlash until the end in Paiporta whereas Sánchez who was heavily targeted had been forced to evacuate the scene The security protocol has been activated as the same level of tension was expected in Chiva with residents inflamed by the lack of urgency and authority shown by Spain’s political leaders Both Paiporta and Chiva are two of the most affected regions both devastated by the flooding of storm DANA hundreds of people had gathered in expectation of the King and his entourage and were booing when it was announced that the visit would be cancelled Many people could be heard shouting: “Together the people will never be defeated,” amongst crowds enraged by what they consider to be cowardice on the part of Spain’s leaders The congregation could also be seen applauding the arrival of tractors and volunteers into the devastated area despite warnings to stay clear of the region Mázon has stated that he understands the indignation and is prepared for what is left to come as the number of fatalities rises daily and families and friends cannot help but reproach the government for their lack of urgency in the matter Nazario Rodríguez commented on the public anger targeted at political leaders and their restraint so far He said: “These people have been too kind with them.” 217 people have lost their lives (213 in Valencia 3 in Castilla-La Mancha and 1 in Andalucía) the massive clean-up operation continues as emergency services drain car parks and other flooded areas and clear debris to find those reported missing All this in the face of further weather warnings issued by the meteorological office (Agencia Estatal de Meteorología) further heavy storms are expected in the region with an orange weather warning in the northern and southern coastline areas of Valencia and a red alert being issued in parts of Almeria orange weather warnings have also been issued due to oncoming heavy rains expected to fall throughout the day in coastal areas of Castellón and Tarragona Hundreds of volunteers have ignored restrictions enforced by the Valencian government to avoid entering the region due to the risks involved and the need for emergency access and have arrived in their masses to afflicted regions to offer help and support regardless Find other articles on Spain  Subscribe to our Euro Weekly News alerts to get the latest stories into your inbox Euro Weekly News is the leading English language newspaper in Spain by delivering news with a social conscience we are proud to be the voice for the expat communities who now call Spain home With around half a million print readers a week and over 1.5 million web views per month EWN has the biggest readership of any English language newspaper in Spain The paper prints over 150 news stories a week with many hundreds more on the web – no one else even comes close Our publication has won numerous awards over the last 25 years including Best Free Newspaper of the Year (Premios AEEPP) Company of the Year (Costa del Sol Business Awards) and Collaboration with Foreigners honours (Mijas Town Hall) All of this comes at ZERO cost to our readers All our print and online content always has been and always will be FREE OF CHARGE Download our media pack in either English or Spanish Spain's national broadcaster reported that the barrage included a few rocks and other objects and that two bodyguards were treated for injuries. One could be seen with a bloody wound on his forehead. It was an unprecedented incident for a royal house that carefully crafts the image of monarchs adored by their country of more than 48 million people. The fury had been unleashed against a state that appears overwhelmed and unable to meet the needs of people used to living under an effective government. Officials also rushed Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez from the scene soon after his contingent started to walk the mud-covered streets of one of the hardest-hit areas, where over 60 people perished and thousands of lives were shattered. The disaster fueled by climate change killed at least 205 people in eastern Spain. “Get out! Get out!” and “Killers!” the crowd in the town of Paiporta shouted, among other insults. Bodyguards opened umbrellas to protect the royals and other officials from the tossed muck. Police had to step in, some officers on horseback, to keep back the crowd of several dozen, some wielding shovels and poles. Queen Letizia broke into tears sympathetically after speaking to several people, including one woman who wept in her arms. Later, one of the queen's bodyguards had a bloody wound on his forehead But even after being forced to seek protection, King Felipe VI, with flecks of mud on his face, remained calm and made several efforts to speak to individual residents. He insisted on trying to speak with people as he tried to continue his visit. He spoke to several people, patting two young men on their backs and sharing a quick embrace, with mud stains on his black raincoat. Still, one woman smacked an official car with an umbrella and another kicked it before it sped off. While far from awakening the passion that the British hold for their royals, Felipe and Letizia’s public events are usually greeted by crowds of fans. The 56-year-old Felipe took the throne when his father, Juan Carlos, abdicated in 2014 after he was tarnished by self-made financial and personal scandals. Felipe immediately cut a new figure, renouncing his personal inheritance and increasing the financial transparency of his royal house. He and the 52-year-old Letizia, a former journalist, dedicate a significant part of their public agenda to cultural and scientific causes. Visits to sites of national tragedies are also part of the royal duties for monarchs seen as a stabilizing force in a parliamentary monarchy restored following the death of dictator Francisco Franco in 1975. But the public rage over the haphazard management of the crisis has been building. Felipe heard some jeers when he took part in a tribute to the dead of a deadly 2017 terror attack in Barcelona, but that was nothing comparable to Sunday's reception. The queen had small glops of mud on her hands and arms as she spoke to women. “We don´t have any water,” one woman told her. Many people still don’t have drinking water five days after the floods struck. Internet and mobile phone coverage remains patchy. Most people only got power back on Saturday. Stores and supermarkets are in ruins and Paiporta, population 30,000, still has many city blocks completely clogged with piles of detritus, countless totaled cars and a ubiquitous layer of mud. Thousands have had their homes destroyed by a tsunami-like wave of muck and indignation at mismanagement of the disaster has begun. The floods had already hit Paiporta when the regional officials issued an alert to mobile phones. It sounded two hours too late. More anger has been fueled by the inability of officials to respond quickly to the aftermath. Most of the cleanup of the layers and layers of mud and debris that has invaded countless homes has been done by residents and thousands of volunteers. “We have lost everything!” someone shouted. Shouts Sunday included demands aimed at regional Valencia President Carlo Mazón, whose administration is in charge of civil protection, to step down, as well as “Where is Pedro Sánchez?” “I understand the indignation and of course, I stayed to receive it,” Mazón said on X. “It was my moral and political obligation. The attitude of the king this morning was exemplary.” Spanish national broadcaster RTVE reported that the barrage aimed at the royals included a few rocks and other hard objects were tossed and that two bodyguards were treated for injuries, and the monarchs and officials called off another stop Sunday at a second hard-hit village, Chiva, about half an hour to the east of Valencia city. Print SEDAVI Spain — Francisco Murgui went out to try to salvage his motorbike when the water started to rise One week after catastrophic flooding devastated eastern Spain, María Murgui still holds out hope that her father is alive and among the unknown number who are missing. “He was like many people in town who went out to get their car or motorbike to safety,” the 27-year-old told the Associated Press. “The flash flood caught him outside, and he had to cling to a tree in order to escape drowning. He called us to tell us he was fine, that we shouldn’t worry.” But when she set out into the streets of Sedaví to try to rescue him from the water washing away everything in its path, he was nowhere to be found. World & Nation A crowd of angry survivors of Spain’s floods tossed mud and shouted insults at Spain’s King Felipe VI and government officials as they visited hard-hit towns. “He held up until 1 in the morning,” she said. “By 2, I went outside with a neighbor and a rope to try to locate him. But we couldn’t find him. And since then, we haven’t heard anything about him.” At least 218 have been confirmed dead after heavy rains late on Oct. 29 and the next morning swamped entire communities, mostly in Spain’s Valencia region. Most people were caught off guard. Regional authorities have been heavily criticized for having issued alerts to cellphones some two hours after the disaster had started. Authorities have yet to any give an estimate of the missing. Spanish state broadcaster RTVE shows a steady stream of appeals by people searching for family members. María Murgui has posted a missing person’s message on social media with a photo of her father, a 57-year-old retiree. “This is like riding a roller-coaster. Sometimes I feel very bad and sometimes I feel better. I try to stay positive,” she said. “This truly is madness. We don’t know what else to do. Neither does anybody else in town.” Crews are searching for bodies in stranded cars and sodden buildings as people try to salvage what they can from ruined homes following flash floods. While many search for their loved ones, the gargantuan recovery efforts in Sedaví and dozens of other communities slowly moved forward. The central government approved an $11.5-billion relief package for 78 communities on Tuesday. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez compared it to the measures taken during the COVID-19 pandemic. The package includes direct payments of about $21,700 to $65,100 to owners of damaged homes, and financial aid for businesses and municipal governments. “We have a lot of work left to do, and we know it,” Sánchez said. Sánchez said he will ask the European Union to help pay for the relief, saying “it is time for the European Union to help.” The floods have left behind postapocalyptic scenes. In town after town, streets are still covered with thick brown mud and mounds of ruined belongings, clumps of rotting vegetation and wrecked vehicles. A stench arises from the muck. In many places, people still face shortages of basic goods, and lines form at impromptu emergency kitchens and stands handing out food. Water is running again but authorities say it is not fit for drinking. The ground floors of thousands of homes have been ruined. There could be bodies waiting to be recovered inside some of the vehicles that were washed away or trapped in underground garages. Many Spaniards are counting their losses and damage to homes and businesses caused by flooding produced by intense rain that continued falling over large areas of the country Authorities are worried about other health problems in the aftermath of the deadliest natural disaster in Spain’s recent history Thousands of volunteers are helping out, but frustration over the crisis management boiled over on Sunday when a crowd in hard-hit Paiporta hurled mud and other objects at Spain’s royals, Sánchez and regional officials when they made their first visit to the epicenter of the flood damage. Muñoz and Wilson write for the Associated Press. Wilson reported from Barcelona, Spain. California Hollywood Inc. Subscribe for unlimited accessSite Map one of the municipalities worst affected by last week’s floods Hundreds of people have heckled Spain’s King Felipe and Queen Letizia as well as the prime minister and the regional leader of Valencia – throwing mud and shouting “murderers” – as the group attempted an official visit to one of the municipalities hardest hit by the deadly floods The scenes playing out in Paiporta on Sunday laid bare the mounting sense of abandonment among the devastated areas and the lingering anger over why an alert urging residents not to leave home on Tuesday was sent after the flood waters began surging Much of the fury appeared to be directed at the elected officials as calls rang out for the resignation of Pedro Sánchez Sánchez was swiftly evacuated as bodyguards used umbrellas to protect the group from the barrage of mud “What were they expecting?” one furious local person asked the newspaper El País Pedro Sánchez should have been here on day one with a shovel.” at one point meeting a man who wept on his shoulder He was also confronted by a young man who told him that “you’ve abandoned us” asking why residents had been left on their own to grapple with the aftermath of the deadly floods “You’re four days too late,” he told the king The man also challenged the king on why the civil protection service which is overseen by the regional government had sent the alert hours after the state-run weather agency had warned of deteriorating conditions and yet they did nothing,” he shouted at the monarch King Felipe appeared to address the incident Speaking to officials in Valencia in a video posted online he said: “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.” Spain’s royal palace later said that the king’s plans to visit a second hard-hit town in the region had been postponed The public rage came as the death toll from the floods climbed to 217. As the meteorological agency on Sunday again issued a red alert, forecasting further heavy rain in the area mayors from the affected municipalities pleaded with officials to send help “We’re very angry and we’re devastated,” said Guillermo Luján We need to start over and I’m begging for help The town’s 33,000 residents were among many in the region grappling with the aftermath of the ferocious floods that rank as the deadliest in Spain’s modern history The number of people missing remains unknown King Felipe’s security guards shield him from mud thrown by angry residents Photograph: Eva Manez/ReutersLuján said his town was in desperate need of heavy machinery to clear out the vehicles and debris piled up along the streets The municipality had yet to confirm the extent of the devastation Aldaia has one of the region’s most visited shopping centres with a vast underground car park that on Tuesday filled with water in a matter of minutes “Right now, the upper part of the centre is devastated and the lower level is a terrifying unknown,” Luján told the broadcaster RTVE Free weekly newsletterThe planet's most important stories Get all the week's environment news - the good Albalat said the number of deaths had climbed to 70 in the small town and was expected to climb in the coming days, as access was secured to underground garages. On Tuesday, in the absence of any sign that this storm would be different from any other, many people had gone down to their garages to move their cars to higher ground In flooded towns such as Alfafar and Sedaví, mayors described feeling abandoned by officials as people scrambled to shovel mud from their homes and clear streets people were still trying to secure an electricity supply or stable phone service Emotions were running high during the king’s visit to Paiporta which has been devastated by the recent floods with part of the town remaining inaccessible Photograph: Manaure Quintero/AFP/Getty ImagesOn Friday the catastrophic images from these municipalities led to a show of solidarity as thousands of volunteers from less-affected areas trekked to the hardest hit carrying shovels thousands more turned up at Valencia’s City of Arts and Sciences which had been hastily converted into the nerve centre of the clean-up operation where on Tuesday nearly a year’s worth of rain fell in eight hours said the situation was a “rollercoaster” for the 17,000 residents which is logical given that we’ve lost our town,” Amparo Fort told reporters it’s heartening to see the response that we’ve had from everyone … there is a real He acknowledged that help had been slow in reaching where it was most needed “I’m aware that the response we’re mounting isn’t enough “And I know there are severe problems and shortages and that there are still collapsed services and towns buried by the mud where people are desperately looking for their relatives and houses that have been buried or destroyed by mud I know we have to do better and give it our all.” Scientists say the human-driven climate crisis is increasing the length frequency and intensity of extreme weather events plays a key role in making torrential rains more severe The flooding is some of the worst that Spain has seen in decades. Satellite images released by the European Space Agency capture the scale of the devastation Other images, which Business Insider geolocated and compared with images from Google Street View show how the rainfall badly affected certain places in and around Valencia This image from the US Landsat-8 satellite shows the landscape around Valencia on October 8 it's about 28 miles from the city of Alzira Before-and-after satellite images captured by Maxar Technologies show widespread destruction across the Valencia Province Depicted here is a highway that was damaged by floodwaters As of Thursday, about 300 people remained cut off from rescue due to damaged roads, EFE — Spain's state news agency — reported. The Sedaví area of Valencia is almost unrecognizable in these images from before and after the flash floods The floodwaters flipped cars on their sides, inundated highways Some were forced to flee to their rooftops to await rescue where at least 62 people were killed by the floods Sudden, catastrophic rain events are becoming more of a problem worldwide as global temperatures rise largely because warmer air holds more moisture The number of people unaccounted for remains unclear As the planet heats up for decades to come droughts and rain events will likely become more and more extreme That's one of many reasons scientists have been calling for companies and industries to drastically cut their carbon emissions research suggests there will be more floods like this in the future one of the towns most affected in Valencia province was even more critical than it was on the Tuesday after the great flood The sewage system of this town with a population of 27,000 had become clogged with mud that had been deposited in the pipes after a week of cleaning out houses had turned into a huge swamp where the smell was unbearable volunteers and workers sank almost half a metre into the mud with the health problems that this entails turning a simple act such as walking into a high-risk sport some local police officers looked on helplessly in the face of a situation that was beyond them trying to cut off streets so machines could work Barely two or three waste tankers could be seen trying to unblock a gigantic blockage with consequences for public health that have yet to become clear The most serious problem was that this 'ground zero' was more than a week after the onslaught of the storm a town where the roads were still full of unusable junk In the narrow streets of the old town you walked in zigzags because the rubbish was piled everywhere tried to push mud with brooms into the wider and better draining streets but had to queue to get through Sources from the local water company confirmed on Wednesday they were concerned about the huge blockage in the sewage system caused by the mud pouring in and for this reason a national alert has been launched so that all the waste tankers available in Spain travel to the affected towns and although it is the most affected municipality there are streets where health problems due to unhealthy conditions will start to break out at any time "We are on a countdown," warned a volunteer doctor who could not believe how it had come to this A large 'thank you' sign occupied the entire balcony of a house located right next to the ravine She had a Dantesque view of what happened that Tuesday afternoon seeing there is still much to be done in Paiporta The bridge that spans the same ravine no longer has barriers on the sides and firemen from Logroño were trying to get people to use the cycle lane Practically all the residents have been left without vehicles because the streets are completely impassable Comentar es una ventaja exclusiva para registrados The wave came and just swept everything away I understand the pain of those who have lost loved ones Mari Carmen Sanchis is club delegate and press officer at CF Paiporta of the Primera FFCV division in the seventh tier of Spanish football the team from a small town in Valencia’s Horta Sud suburbs has played at its El Palleter stadium since 1972 A drainage gully which carries water down from the Valencia region’s interior highlands towards the sea runs right past where El Palleter stands The playing surface is now a wasteland of mud and water strewn with huge lumps of concrete plastic bottles and chairs carried from a nearby primary school El Palleter was destroyed when vicious storms hit on October 29 and 30 At least 223 people have been confirmed dead in Valencia Spain’s prime minister Pedro Sanchez has described the floods as the worst natural disaster in the country’s recent history Sanchis and her husband Carlos brought The Athletic by car to Paiporta A police check-point was only allowing vehicles carrying emergency material to enter the town centre we passed overturned car wrecks and piles of debris including mattresses Army helicopter flew overhead and emergency service sirens could be heard nearby.  a dark brown water mark runs across a wall at more than two metres above pitch level Water still covered the floor of the ruined club offices and bar The stadium scoreboard had been picked up and thrown down by the water Boots and jerseys lay scattered around in the mud “This stadium was built by so much work from so many people,” Sanchis says tearfully We’re going to have to start again from zero Valencianos are accustomed to the DANA or ‘gota fria’ (cold drop) heavy rains which can occur in autumn After previous flooding in 1957 which caused 81 deaths the Turia River was redirected out of the city centre in a project — the Plan Sur — which concluded in 1972 As the enormity of the situation became clear people desperately scrambled to try to get home “I found myself in the epicenter of the storm as I live in Chiva,” Levante coach Julian Calero tells The Athletic. “That morning it had rained a lot. We were flying out that night to play the Copa del Rey so we left the training ground earlier than usual That 90 minutes might have saved our lives.” Water which had fallen inland started to flow down towards the sea Man-made gullies built to safely direct water flowing down towards the sea from my house’s balcony you could see a huge amount of water running past across the golf course next door,” Calero recalls but we knew that water was going to cause damage elsewhere.” who play in Lliga Comunitat Grup Nord Senior (Spain’s sixth tier) had been preparing to host Primera Division Getafe in the Copa the following Thursday Manises coach Santi Marin told The Athletic that people close to the drainage gully could see water levels rising and knew a disaster was coming “The ‘barranco’ is 70 metres deep and almost 100 metres wide,” he says A huge wave destroyed everything in its wake Drivers had to get out and leave their cars on the road But the water was so strong it even ripped up and carried trees away People were dropping blankets and ropes from balconies to get others below to climb up Among the victims was Jose Castillejo, 28, who was at Valencia’s academy as a teenager then played in midfield for local teams Paterna “I played against Jose Castillejo,” Marin says “He was a former team-mate of my players (at Manises) “My sister in law’s father went out to move his car and did not return,” she says “Three days later they found his body at the bottom of the ‘barranco’.” A Los Che staff member had to be rescued from his home and is now temporarily living with the club’s corporate director Javier Solis and his family an extreme situation,” Solis tells The Athletic businesses… entire families have lost everything As The Athletic visited different towns which had been flooded streets were still covered in inches of sticky mud furniture and mattresses were piled on street corners Emergency workers were pumping water up out of underground garages Locals were cleaning the ground floor of their houses or shops with mops and brushes Trucks were carrying detritus to dump on open spaces like playgrounds and car parks The scene in the hours and days immediately following the storm was much more horrific thousands of homes and business premises were completely ruined and more than 100,000 vehicles were destroyed “Our house was completely incommunicado for over a day — no telephone signal Local police search and rescue operations were overwhelmed by the enormity of the situation People rescued their neighbours from ground floor houses which had been blocked by material carried along by the water Thousands of volunteers from elsewhere in the city walked to the most affected areas to help as they could Valencia forward Hugo Duro helped clean up streets and houses in Chiva as did youth teamers Javi Navarro and Pedro Aleman in the nearby town of Guadassuar Levante captain Vicente Iborra walked into Paiporta on Friday with his family — bringing bottles of water and a shovel to help clean up former team-mates,” Iborra tells The Athletic My son played there just a few weeks ago in a friendly There was a family who could not get out of their house.” Por cierto, Don Vicent Iborra, con la familia y palas en mano, a coger la carretera que te lleva a Paiporta desde Valencia.Honor. pic.twitter.com/8uMbr8hZsx Former Valencia player and Barcelona sporting director Robert Fernandez along with ex-Los Che team-mates David Albelda and Vicente Rodriguez were part of the volunteer clean-up effort in the town of Catarroja in the days after the flooding “It was like a tsunami had passed through,” Fernandez tells The Athletic “To see it with your own eyes was terrible We brought water and stayed there the whole day to help Locals say the first days were very chaotic and disorganised There was a particular lack of the emergency expertise and logistics such as heavy machinery to clear streets and fears of disease mounted with standing water growing stagnant and vulnerable people unable to leave their houses Calero combined playing lower level football with a job as a police officer for 15 years to bring medicine to people who needed it in Chiva and Paiporta “There were people with diabetes or other conditions who need medication every day,” Calero says It leaves you with a very bad feeling in your body 🫶🏻🚐 Calicanto , Chiva, Manises.Seguimos distribuyendo solidaridad por las localidades afectadas por la Dana 👏🏻Gracias por vuestra hospitalidad.🗣️ Aurelio y Ramona, vecinos de Calicanto. pic.twitter.com/O8oADMs6qy The slow official response led to anger among the local community When Spain’s King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia visited Paiporta on the Sunday after the floods hit Spanish PM Sanchez and Valencian regional president Carlos Mazon were greeted by shouts of “murderers” and “get out” Many The Athletic spoke to on the ground were angry at squabbling politicians more concerned with avoiding blame than taking responsibility “The organisation has been very bad; such situations need experts,” Calero says “The army did not arrive as quickly as it should have They have very good professionals to organise everything — field hospitals bring water in and organise the people (volunteering) The Athletic asked the Valencia regional government about the suggestion that it had not reacted quickly or strongly enough to help people affected by the flooding A spokesperson responded with a list of the actions taken over the days of the disaster while also pointing to the historic amount of rainfall during one 24-hour period Asked by The Athletic whether army personnel could have been on the ground quicker to help the Valencian regional government said that the central Spanish government in Madrid had ultimate responsibility When The Athletic visited Levante’s Ciutat de Valencia on Thursday morning there were big cardboard boxes with labels saying food staff and youth players were ferrying boxes to vehicles waiting to bring them to the areas affected local NGO ‘Chefs solidarios’ prepared paellas and other dishes which were packaged up to be distributed around the city Un Ciutat a pleno rendimiento 🫶🏻 pic.twitter.com/C66oGElGVF the stadium soon started to fill up with tonnes of material,” Levante director Maribel Vilaplana told The Athletic “Everyone has helped as they can — directors Staff have driven club vehicles to the affected zones but we’ve been able to channel this overwhelming solidarity Almost everybody in Valencia has someone very close to them who has been affected So we feel very proud of what we’ve been able to do.” The club also partnered with local organisation Banco de Alimentos (Food Bank) who they had also worked with during the Covid-19 pandemic “More than a million kilos of food and materials was collected which is being distributed among the towns affected,” Solis says Other Spanish teams also sprung into action, with fans at clubs including Osasuna Deportivo la Coruna and Calero’s former club Burgos donating material When The Athletic visited a school in Paiporta being used as a distribution centre some locals were dropping off bags of food Others came to ask if they could take things they and their families needed People who had not seen each other since the disaster were meeting Sanchis and her husband brought nappies and baby food to an elderly lady looking after two six-month old grandchildren in her flat while their parents were trying to deal with houses which had been completely flooded “People have lost everything — their houses “All week we’ve been going around with a shopping trolley Osasuna coach Vicente Moreno missed his team’s Copa del Rey game last Tuesday, as he was in Massanassa helping clean up his family home. Among the volunteers helping out in the affected areas over the weekend was Barcelona and Spain forward Ferran Torres who was in Valencia’s academy at the same time as Castillejo the former footballer who died in the flooding Torres was absent for Barcelona’s game against Espanyol on November 3 and his manager Hansi Flick explained afterwards: “Ferran Torres wasn’t with us today — his mind was on the Valencia floods Some things are more important than football.” at least 130,000 people protested outside Valencia’s town hall with many residents walking into the centre from the areas most affected in the l’Horta Sud towns to show their anger at the official response to the disaster “We feel abandoned,” was one of the banners flown by the protestors a crisis committee to support those affected by the DANA was announced last week by La Liga Liga F (women’s league) and the presidents of the Valencian and Castilla-La Mancha regional federations Federacio de Futbol de la Comunitat Valenciana president Salva Gomar has estimated that at least €20million will be required by clubs in the region to rebuild I’ve requested financial assistance for a recovery plan to rebuild the destroyed stadiums,” Gomar told The Athletic “Many professional clubs are ready to help with this It will take a long time — cleaning up and rebuilding The federation’s objective is to return optimism and joy to the kids Installations at more than 60 local clubs were flooded affecting more than 1,000 different teams across all age-levels Among the clubs who have lost almost everything is Union Deportiva Balompie Alfafar “Our ground is completely ruined,” UDB Alfafar president Manuel Visiedo says “It’s being used now as a dump for the rubbish collected from houses and streets It’s all being crushed and baled to be taken away The stadium… we’ll have to start again from scratch.” UDP Alfafar have already started a crowdfunding campaign for their reconstruction project Visiedo also says that more money from elite football should flow down to help the clubs which have been affected “I understand the authorities currently have other priorities but we’ve lost everything — all our trophies Iborra says that professional teams in Spain and elsewhere should come together to offer financial and other support “Professional football can help a lot,” he says “Social actions can raise money to repair many things Many people are showing solidarity — in Valencia Manises’ stadium is on higher ground and was not damaged by flooding. Their next game will be the rescheduled Copa tie against Getafe on November 26 work colleagues and former team-mates,” Marin says “Others saw people being carried away by the water to their deaths So nobody has wanted to think about football Dermot joined The Athletic in 2020 and has been our main La Liga Correspondent up until now. Irish-born, he has spent more than a decade living in Madrid and writing about Spanish football for ESPN, the UK Independent and the Irish Examiner. Follow Dermot on Twitter @dermotmcorrigan Advocates for ideas and draws conclusions based on the interpretation of facts and data Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content transforming entire neighborhoods into landscapes of thick mud and debris They are in urgent need of outside support to rebuild their lives—support that has not met the demand and more than a hundred people remain unaccounted for as rescue operations continue each effort weighed down by the destruction young volunteers from across Spain have flooded into the area armed with little more than brooms and unwavering resolve the lack of formal coordination and adequate resources has hampered their efforts underscoring the urgent need for better-organized relief Johan Kulhan, who has been volunteering tirelessly with grassroots organizations like ADFA (A Demand For Action) "My friends and I have been coming here every day since the disaster started but we are tired of the lack of more organized efforts," he said since it's impossible to pass due to the mud and all the cars that are stacked on each other I wish there was better coordination with the authorities so we could have more structure and help even more." local businesses and residents have rallied in impressive displays of solidarity a Swedish-born resident managing the Pizza4U restaurant chain in Benidorm and delivering essentials to the affected areas—ensuring volunteers and survivors have the resources they need to help Where are the international organizations with the means to provide structured It's relieving to at least see that World Central Kitchen (WCK) which was founded by renowned Spanish chef José Andrés WCK focuses on providing meals in the wake of disasters helping to feed people affected by crises around the world While passing yet another destroyed house and trying not to get mud up to my knees I asked three young people who were cleaning a house by moving out all the destroyed furniture and trying to empty it of water if they used to live there and they are trying to clean and restore it as much as possible and wife will return to it—hoping they are still alive The story of Picaña and Paiporta is a testament to both human resilience and the pressing need for action Situated in the fertile agricultural belt near Valencia these towns have long thrived on their groves of citrus weave together deep-rooted cultural traditions drawing both locals and visitors into celebrations of heritage and community these towns bear the scars of a catastrophe that will not heal without substantial aid We at ADFA recognize that what we do is minimal the absence of international support remains disheartening each effort—no matter how small—remains a drop in the ocean an essential but solitary wave in a sea of overwhelming need Nuri Kino is an independent investigative multi-award-winning reporter and minority rights expert The views expressed in this article are the writer's own Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground Newsletters in your inbox See all where the king and queen faced fury from the crowds At least 217 people have died in the flash floods We meet the experts on the front line of climate change who explore new strategies to mitigate and adapt.