King Felipe VI and Pedro Sanchez greeted with cries of “assassins!” » by an angry crowd

King Felipe VI of Spain and his wife, Queen Letizia, arrived on Sunday, November 3, in Paiporta, near Valencia (East), one of the cities most bereaved by the floods which ravaged the south this week -east of the country, causing at least 217 deaths, according to a latest report.

Accompanied by the Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez, they were greeted with cries of« assassins ! » by an angry crowd who threw mud at the procession. The hostility of these residents is particularly directed against the conservative president of the Valencia region, Carlos Mazon, and the head of the socialist government. “Mazon resignation!” », “How many deaths?” »shouted the crowd who accused the authorities of having sent a late telephone alert message to residents on Tuesday, while the meteorological services had placed the region on red alert in the morning.

On Saturday, Carlos Mazon announced a battery of economic aid and promised the return of order, while acts of looting were reported in several stores, leading to the arrest of 82 people. “There are people who may have felt alone, helpless, unprotected”recognized the elected official. But “we will help all households” who need it, he said. “We are facing the challenge of our lives and we are going to find the solutions. »

In total, 213 people died in the Valencia region alone, three in Castile-la-Mancha, where the body of a sixty-year-old woman who went missing on Tuesday was discovered on Sunday morning, and one in Andalusia.

Authorities expect the toll to rise further as car wrecks piled up in tunnels and underground parking lots in the worst-hit areas are methodically examined. “There are still flooded ground floors or garages, basements and parking lots to be cleared and it is foreseeable that deceased people are in these spaces”declared the Minister of Transport, Oscar Puente. According to him, the toll has changed relatively little over the past forty-eight hours because the emergency services first explored “more accessible areas”.

Rehabilitation of roads and infrastructure

The visit of Felipe VI and Pedro Sanchez comes as the Spanish meteorological agency (Aemet) issued a new orange alert for heavy rains in the Valencia region, in particular in the Valencian conurbation and in the province of Castellon, where 100 liters of water per square meter (i.e. 10 cm) could occasionally fall.

A red alert has also been issued for the province of Almeria, in Andalusia (South), due to “torrential rains” likely to cause flooding, according to Aemet, which recommends that residents only travel in the event of “strict necessity”.

On Saturday, Pedro Sanchez announced the sending of 5,000 additional soldiers to help the victims and participate in the search for the missing, bringing their total strength to 7,500, i.e. the “largest deployment of armed forces ever carried out in Spain in peacetime”according to him. To these soldiers will be added 5,000 police officers and civil guards responsible for supporting their 5,000 colleagues already on the ground, reinforcements impatiently awaited in certain localities facing a chaotic situation.

If the chances of finding survivors are diminishing, the priority for relief remains the search for the missing, with the restoration of roads and infrastructure to allow the delivery of aid and the reestablishment of essential services. According to the authorities, more than 2,000 damaged cars and trucks have already been removed. Electricity has also been restored to 94% of residents who had been deprived of it.

According to Aemet, in certain localities the equivalent “from a year of precipitation” in a few hours. This deluge is linked to a “cold drop” phenomenon, an isolated depression at high altitude which causes sudden and extremely violent rains which sometimes last for several days. This meteorological phenomenon, quite common in autumn on the Spanish Mediterranean coast, is most likely worsened by global warming, according to scientists.