During the Spanish King Felipe VI’s visit to Paiporta, Valencia, frustrated crowds shouted and threw mud at the monarch in the town affected by the flash floods in Spain.
The king has since responded in an Instagram video uploaded to the royal household’s account, saying that he “understands the anger and frustration” of the people in towns affected by the floods, like Paiporta.
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People in Paiporta are angry
The king and queen of Spain were met with protesting crowds in Paiporta as they went to visit the town affected by the floods.
The mayor of Paiporta, Maribel Albalat, told BBC that she understood “the frustration and desperation of the people. Although violence is never the solution, ever.”
The floods caused major destruction
Over the past few days, the floods in Spain have caused major destruction to multiple towns, with the overall death toll rising to 217.
The king and queen were set to also visit Chiva, another area affected by the floods, but this visit has now been postponed.
Flooding affected multiple areas
The tragedy struck many towns in Spain. One of them, Catarroja, is still struggling to pick itself back up. Hundreds of cars were swept away by the waters and are now being removed by excavators and cranes after the hazard turned them into piles of metal.
The people’s anger is said to be “unprecedented”
In the BBC’s report of the protests at the king’s visit to Paiporta, reporter Mark Lowen said that the anger was “unprecedented.”
As he was present at the scene, Lowen reported that “people are picking up mud and throwing it at the king.”
Weather alerts have also been issued to other areas
People of the Garraf, Alt Penedès, and Baix Penedès divisions of Catalonia have received weather alerts on their phones from the Directorate-General of Civil Protection of the Government of Catalonia.
They were told to take precautions, avoid travel, and stay away from water streams.
The king responded to the people’s anger
Following being greeted by angry crowds in Paiporta, Valencia, King Felipe VI responded on social media saying that he “understands the anger and frustration.”
He also thanked emergency services for their help in the tragedy and asked the public to give hope to victims of the flood.
More storms are expected
The Spanish national weather agency (AEMET) has issued a warning of more expected storms in parts of southern Valencia, but they added that the rainfall will be less violent.
The new red warning is for rainfall accumulation in one hour whereas when the crisis started the warning was across 12 hours.
People feel the support given is insufficient
Local residents of Paiporta threw mud at the king in anger, feeling that the weather warnings didn’t come fast enough and that they were not receiving adequate support in the crisis.
Although 10,000 troops were sent to help in Valencia, locals say they had no contact with emergency services before this.
People in Paiporta explained their anger
Alex Baker, a resident of Valencia, told BBC that “people feel abandoned” and feel as though the government is not sufficiently protecting them.
Another resident of Paiporta also said no one was helping them with managing the crisis for three days.
Protesters in the town were brought to tears
The mud being thrown at the king in Paiporta was a show of anger that has never before been seen in Spain.
One protester cried, saying, “They left us to die. We’ve lost everything: our businesses, our homes, our dreams.”
