Greek Reporter/CO1 Article: Spain Floods: Thousands Protest in Valencia Over Government Response

Tens of thousands of people have protested in Valencia, Spain, against their government’s response to the recent floods that killed more than 200 people and left many more missing.

On Saturday evening, Valencians protested in front of the town’s city hall and the Valencia regional government building, dumping muddy shoes outside and plastering the exterior with red handprints. The protestors say that the leader of the Valencia regional government, Carlos Mazón, along with his administration, failed to issue flood alerts quickly enough.

Disastrous floods in Valencia, Spain

On October 29, Valencia experienced one of the worst floods in Spanish history. Approximately 200 people were killed, many were left missing, and entire towns were ruined. The flooding has destroyed metro lines, roads, and train tracks, trapping many Valencians inside the city.

The storm was caused by a DANA, a Spanish acronym for a “high-altitude isolated depression” that can cause severe flooding, winds, and even hail. The storm flooded the Turia and Magro river basins, eventually overwhelming the river bed and hurling walls of water toward the nearby towns.

The aftermath

The floods left towns such as Paiporta, Chiva, and Manassas filled with tons of water, mud, and debris. Since then, vast numbers of volunteers have been making their way to the affected towns to do what they can to help. Volunteers have mostly had to get to the disaster zone on foot, as cars and public transport still cannot reach the most affected areas.

The Valencian people’s anger toward their local government has increased with each passing day. They feel that Mazón and his administration have not done enough to help and failed to issue flood warnings early enough.

“They failed to notify us on time,” said Dolores Cortes Cases, a resident of Villarreal in Castellon de la Plana, who was visiting Valencia during the floods. “I received my notification at 11am the following day. A friend of mine told me to stay inside, but I told her, ‘Everything is already done.'”

A volunteer removing mud from the street. Credits: Christopher Gomez/CO1.

Many people received the flood warning notification hours after the storm began. The government also took several days to finally send out help, even though volunteers had deployed to the disaster zones from the first day.

“Not only Mazón, but all the top people in the government need to answer for this,” said Cortes Cases.

Thousands protests against government response to Valencia floods

Valencians protesting at the Valencia Regional Government Palace. Courtesy of Heather Wallace.

Heather Wallace, a languages assistant in Alzira who could see the protest from her home, said the build-up to the demonstration started on Friday, when people started bringing their mud-soaked shoes to the regional government building.

“The media was camped outside [the regional government building] the day before waiting for something to happen,” said Wallace. “A man came up to the door with muddy shoes, the journalists spoke to him, and that was that. The next day [Saturday], before everything started, that’s when people began to bring their muddy shoes.”

Protestors also left red-hand prints and graffiti on the both government buildings. Messages like “Mazón Asesino” (“Assassin Mazón”) were written on the walls alongside mud smears.

“There were people putting their hands in red paint and putting their hands on the wall,” said Wallace. “I think it’s, you know, you have blood on your hands… as it went on, people got the signs and started leaving them all around the building. They propped them up on ledges, and somebody spray painted on the building.”

When talking about the marks left and graffiti left behind on the building, Wallace added, “Defacing a government building is kind of civil. They weren’t harming anyone. If the building has some marks because more than 200 people died, that’s a significant event.”

Protestors were also chanting phrases such as “Killers!” and holding posters saying “You killed us” and “government assassins.” The demonstrators expressed anger, grief, and dissatisfaction with the local government.

“People are angry because they are sad,” said Wallace. “It’s grief and [looking for] someone to blame.”

The police apprehended a few protestors, but none were taken away. Wallace said that the protests were mostly peaceful, with only a few stragglers at the end looking to cause trouble.

“Earlier on, it was more organized,” Wallace continued. “People were really here to scream their slogans and express what they’re feeling, but then, as things really cleared out, it seemed like there were just people looking for trouble. [Those] people were wearing Covid masks, and you are not wearing a mask for Covid, especially after the crowd has mostly dispersed.”

According to Wallace, the protests ended at around 10pm on Saturday. The demonstrations were predominantly civil and Valencians protesting against the government made their voices heard.