Last Tuesday, Valencia, Spain experienced one of the worst natural disasters in its history. A historic flood ripped through small, historic towns. Over 200 people are dead and there’s probably hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of damage to communities. There’s also a lot of outrage towards Spain’s government and the country’s lack of disaster-preparedness. The local warnings of the floods came too late for most people to evacuate, and the death toll reflects that. There’s a huge amount of outrage, as there should be. Over the weekend, Spanish civilian volunteers descended on Paiporta to help with the clean up and to bring clothes, bedding, food and necessities to the people affected. King Felipe and Queen Letizia also tried to tour the damage in Paiporta with local officials. The public’s reaction to the tour was brutal – people threw mud at the king and queen, and there was a lot of anger and rage directed at them too.
They came by bus, by tractor or on foot. They waded through mud hoping to help clean up neighborhoods washed away by floodwaters that have killed at least 214 people. Thousands of Spanish citizens made their way to flood-ravaged Valencia over the weekend after the country’s worst natural disaster in recent history left the nation shocked by images of overturned cars and brick homes torn apart by furious water.
The devastation has become a political flashpoint and brought home fears over the effects of climate change. On Sunday morning, as King Felipe VI walked through a crowd in Paiporta, a town in Valencia where more than 60 people died, angry protesters shouted and threw mud.
“Killers!” the crowd shouted, according to video footage shared on Spanish news.
King Felipe was with Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, as well as Carlos Mazón, the regional president of Valencia, on whom many residents lay blame for the sending out of official alerts only after the flooding had reached dangerous levels.
Many people in Paiporta, an epicenter of the destruction, are still waiting for basic supplies from emergency services — and for news of their missing loved ones. On Sunday, the grief, fear and anger erupted into frustration that resources were being used for an official walk-through, while emergency workers were still racing to try to find survivors.
“You abandoned us!” some protesters shouted at the officials, as the men who flanked the king opened black umbrellas to protect him from the mud. “Get out of here!”
Here in America, the president and state governor usually only step foot in a disaster-ravaged community unless FEMA has already been on the ground since the beginning. As in, they’ve already cleared the roads and all emergency services have been coordinated. It sounds like there’s been little in the way of coordination or emergency assistance on the ground in Valencia, and people felt like they were being used as a photo-op for politicians and the king and queen. Not to defend the Spanish royals – I honestly don’t care – but it looks like Felipe and Letizia were taking one for the team and getting some of the mud and rage meant for the politicians and government officials. It also looks like Felipe and Letizia were truly trying to talk to people and let them vent and cry. This whole thing sounds like Spain’s Hurricane Katrina.
‼️ Lanzan objetos y fango al rey a su llegada a Paiporta: “¡Asesinos!”https://t.co/WdBMbvISwd pic.twitter.com/GAwqOnZuWz
— elDiario.es (@eldiarioes) November 3, 2024
🚨 Corren a pedradas al rey Felipe y a la reina Letizia en Valencia; "Asesinos" y "Guillotina al borbón", les gritaron
La familia real y Pedro Sánchez fueron echados de Paiporta. "Si quieres no vengo y me quedo en Madrid", respondió indignado Felipe VI.
🔗:… pic.twitter.com/YMDdt33pfP
— Revolución 3.0 (@Revolucion3_0) November 4, 2024
Spain's King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia were hit in the face with mud during a visit to the flood-ravaged Valencia region. pic.twitter.com/XfSPj8RhIM
— DW News (@dwnews) November 3, 2024
Photos courtesy of Backgrid.
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- Paiporta, SPAIN – King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia visited the city of Paiporta, near Valencia, which has been the most affected by the floods in Spain, with 220 casualties and more than 1,800 people missing so far. After visiting the Emergency Management Center in the area, the Royals arrived in Paiporta accompanied by the city’s mayor, the President of the Community of Valencia, Carlos Mazón, and Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez. Upon the authorities’ arrival, hundreds of citizens who had lost everything confronted the delegation, blaming the government, insulting Pedro Sanchez, and throwing mud and other objects, creating a riot and a violent scene that threatened the Royals’ safety. Even the Queen was struck by a piece of mud. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez fled, escorted by his bodyguards, in a heavily damaged car, leaving the Royals to face the enraged crowd. King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia remained composed, approached the people to calm and comfort them, and listened to their grievances. The citizens expressed anger over the delayed flood warnings and the subsequent poor management of the disaster, including insufficient military and official aid that arrived days later. Despite being hit by mud themselves, the King and Queen maintained their composure, offering comfort through their presence among the affected residents. A planned visit to the city of Chiva was canceled for safety reasons after the riot in Paiporta. Pictured: Queen Letizia BACKGRID USA 3 NOVEMBER 2024 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Paiporta, SPAIN – King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia visited the city of Paiporta, near Valencia, which has been the most affected by the floods in Spain, with 220 casualties and more than 1,800 people missing so far. After visiting the Emergency Management Center in the area, the Royals arrived in Paiporta accompanied by the city’s mayor, the President of the Community of Valencia, Carlos Mazón, and Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez. Upon the authorities’ arrival, hundreds of citizens who had lost everything confronted the delegation, blaming the government, insulting Pedro Sanchez, and throwing mud and other objects, creating a riot and a violent scene that threatened the Royals’ safety. Even the Queen was struck by a piece of mud. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez fled, escorted by his bodyguards, in a heavily damaged car, leaving the Royals to face the enraged crowd. King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia remained composed, approached the people to calm and comfort them, and listened to their grievances. The citizens expressed anger over the delayed flood warnings and the subsequent poor management of the disaster, including insufficient military and official aid that arrived days later. Despite being hit by mud themselves, the King and Queen maintained their composure, offering comfort through their presence among the affected residents. A planned visit to the city of Chiva was canceled for safety reasons after the riot in Paiporta. Pictured: King Felipe VI BACKGRID USA 3 NOVEMBER 2024 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Paiporta, SPAIN – King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia visited the city of Paiporta, near Valencia, which has been the most affected by the floods in Spain, with 220 casualties and more than 1,800 people missing so far. After visiting the Emergency Management Center in the area, the Royals arrived in Paiporta accompanied by the city’s mayor, the President of the Community of Valencia, Carlos Mazón, and Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez. Upon the authorities’ arrival, hundreds of citizens who had lost everything confronted the delegation, blaming the government, insulting Pedro Sanchez, and throwing mud and other objects, creating a riot and a violent scene that threatened the Royals’ safety. Even the Queen was struck by a piece of mud. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez fled, escorted by his bodyguards, in a heavily damaged car, leaving the Royals to face the enraged crowd. King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia remained composed, approached the people to calm and comfort them, and listened to their grievances. The citizens expressed anger over the delayed flood warnings and the subsequent poor management of the disaster, including insufficient military and official aid that arrived days later. Despite being hit by mud themselves, the King and Queen maintained their composure, offering comfort through their presence among the affected residents. A planned visit to the city of Chiva was canceled for safety reasons after the riot in Paiporta. Pictured: King Felipe VI BACKGRID USA 3 NOVEMBER 2024 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Paiporta, SPAIN – King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia visited the city of Paiporta, near Valencia, which has been the most affected by the floods in Spain, with 220 casualties and more than 1,800 people missing so far. After visiting the Emergency Management Center in the area, the Royals arrived in Paiporta accompanied by the city’s mayor, the President of the Community of Valencia, Carlos Mazón, and Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez. Upon the authorities’ arrival, hundreds of citizens who had lost everything confronted the delegation, blaming the government, insulting Pedro Sanchez, and throwing mud and other objects, creating a riot and a violent scene that threatened the Royals’ safety. Even the Queen was struck by a piece of mud. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez fled, escorted by his bodyguards, in a heavily damaged car, leaving the Royals to face the enraged crowd. King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia remained composed, approached the people to calm and comfort them, and listened to their grievances. The citizens expressed anger over the delayed flood warnings and the subsequent poor management of the disaster, including insufficient military and official aid that arrived days later. Despite being hit by mud themselves, the King and Queen maintained their composure, offering comfort through their presence among the affected residents. A planned visit to the city of Chiva was canceled for safety reasons after the riot in Paiporta. Pictured: Queen Letizia BACKGRID USA 3 NOVEMBER 2024 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Paiporta, SPAIN – King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia visited the city of Paiporta, near Valencia, which has been the most affected by the floods in Spain, with 220 casualties and more than 1,800 people missing so far. After visiting the Emergency Management Center in the area, the Royals arrived in Paiporta accompanied by the city’s mayor, the President of the Community of Valencia, Carlos Mazón, and Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez. Upon the authorities’ arrival, hundreds of citizens who had lost everything confronted the delegation, blaming the government, insulting Pedro Sanchez, and throwing mud and other objects, creating a riot and a violent scene that threatened the Royals’ safety. Even the Queen was struck by a piece of mud. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez fled, escorted by his bodyguards, in a heavily damaged car, leaving the Royals to face the enraged crowd. King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia remained composed, approached the people to calm and comfort them, and listened to their grievances. The citizens expressed anger over the delayed flood warnings and the subsequent poor management of the disaster, including insufficient military and official aid that arrived days later. Despite being hit by mud themselves, the King and Queen maintained their composure, offering comfort through their presence among the affected residents. A planned visit to the city of Chiva was canceled for safety reasons after the riot in Paiporta. Pictured: King Felipe VI – Queen Letizia BACKGRID USA 3 NOVEMBER 2024 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
And now we see why ALL monarchies should be abolished
I’m an Australian Republican (treaty now!) if not fully anti-Monarchy because I think many cultures value their history. The Spanish monarchy is an emotional figurehead, the same as all of the European monarchies. Felipe and Letizia did the only thing they could: they showed up, they listened, and they kept the focus on the locals. They’re enduring the abuse that the authorities and government didn’t, keeping the media on the story of helping those who need it. Letizia used to be a journalist, she knew what she was doing.
Stunning. I am shocked by this. Loving every minute of it, but still shocked.
How can the Govts be so useless in so many countries?
The photos of people on foot carrying supplies walking to the area are just heartbreaking.
They have been useless in Spain. People showed up ready to help with supplies and money to give to those affected, and they are being held back from doing so. And today, Monday, instead of jumping in, they are supposed to be in meetings all day figuring out what to do. People are livid that they are not helping and yet the people that showed up and want to help are being turned away. I saw videos and images on instagram of the disaster, the people stranded, people in wheelchairs with water up to their waist waiting for help, pets, its horrible. And people recording themselves being turned away when they showed up to help or with supplies to give. They are livid and rightly so.
I have a dear friend who lives in Valencia, for two days he and many other volunteers were out mucking mud and trying to get people to safety before the army actually arrived, or before the king and queen visited. Two days where there was not enough services, just people trying to help each other. The photos he sent are heartbreaking
The general public who had showed up to help, plus the locals met the regional president and the Prime Minister and the monarch with absolute rage. Video after video uploaded to social media. Calling them all “sons of whores” and yelling at them to get out, calling them murderers… it was raw, passionate fury. Sanchez, I don’t think even exited his vehicle, his car in the motorcade turned and fled even as locals were banging on the windows and attempting to open the car’s doors.
There’s more rain already and more coming later in the week both north and south of Valencia, and the national services are not. prepared. from what people in the warned towns are saying.
In Valencia they still have parking garages full of water and they only started sending divers down yesterday. Dozens of dead in the parking garages, they’re saying. They have to pump out the water to recover them. Going to take days and yet the rain continues?
It’s heartbreaking. Reminds me not only of Katrina but Helene this year – people in N Carolina were not getting shelter assistance, homes gone, and the Red Cross temp shelters were closing. State instead of helping was threatening to put families’ kids in foster care for not having proper shelter. Like, who does that? Cruel.
It’s clear that Spanish elected official and royalty deserve the vitriol. I read that they closed down the only clear street for them to tour the ravaged area, blocking aid in the process.
Please be careful Where’sMyTiara about spreading misinformation concerning the aftermath of Helene in NC. I believe some of what you are saying has been debunked.
WaPost: Helene response hampered by misinformation, conspiracy theories
https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2024/10/05/hurricane-helene-conspiracy-theories-rumors/
See, this is why I trust the people and not the government. With elections coming up or all these back and forth on certain issues, things are so divided and purposely so. But I have faith that if something was to happen, people will show up for one another no matter what. Look at all the Spaniards coming from other towns to help, look at the Amish helping build homes in NC, and the people who rented trucks and flew private helicopters with supplies. Even back when 9/11 happened, the first people who rushed to help were people that were nearby. Might sound delusional but my faith will always be on people instead of the government. Whatever happens, we can all come together to help.
Wow this is just so very sad for the people there and I hope that they get the help from their government . It was interesting to see the King get pelted with mud.
The King and Queen tried to empathise with the people but they should have not gone with the politicians as they r the ones who r ultimately responsible for the lack of pre warning and preparedness for events like this.
I pray that they r still able to find survivors.
I would love to see C3 and Pegs get this treatment from their tenants who should throw mold at them.
I saw a beautiful moment where a woman who had been trapped in her car for three days was rescued, alive. Sadly I think that will be the exception, not the norm.
Seeing the wreckage from the rain fall was stunning. I’m shocked at the response of the people to the king and queen, but I understand it.
From what I gathered on news sites, they stayed and let them vent and tried to console them, while local and federal politicians fled the scene. STill, resources should not have been pulled away from helping the 2000 people still missing or the survivors to get basic necessities, just so the King and Queen could walk around and view the damage. They should not have been there at that point.
I also read that rainfall flooding the streets happens a lot there, because of the shitty drainage systems and they had no way of knowing the magnitude of this one in advance.
Rain in Spain has a tendency to fall heavily all at once (or in s concentrated period) after a long dry, period where the ground bakes hard. Friends of our experienced having to flee a campground and the surrounding landscape suddenly filled with wild rivers and floods. This though is beyond heartbreaking! And they’re in danger of more.
I understand the desire to pelt the royals with mud, but I wish they wouldn’t have been physically attacked.
The president was warned that morning but didnt pass on the warning to his constituents until after the danger started. So people in authority knew in advance what was coming
Today, we have models that can literally predict the depth of water to the centimeter. There was a poster on Twitter with the forecast (it was early afternoon EU), it was certain that there would be torrential flooding.
However, evacuations and warnings come at a cost, and the authorities were probably dismissive of the forecast. That is the only logical explanation for the FUBAR situation that occurred, it should not have happened, at least not on such a large scale.
I assume that Spain doesn’t get hit with major natural disasters multiple times a year like the US does? It’s like no one knew how to approach this. Politicians and royals being out there, diverting vital first responder attention towards their security, while there are still hundreds of people missing was bound to come across very poorly. Just issue a statement of condolence and stand back for at least a week or so! People who have just lost everything don’t want to see you out there in your suits and pricey dresses at a time like this.
This is something I’ve come to realize after watching Europeans react to US weather videos. For much of Europe extreme weather is rarity and natural disasters might not even be once a generation. Interestingly Indonesia is the country with the most frequent natural disasters
It was their duty to be there as Head of State and take ppl’s anger. But Valencia is an autonomous region, and central government can do very little without an official request from local authorities that came in too late. Regional government are the ones who in first place failed miserably to their people and exposed them to this very dire situation. It’s true they’ve been relying mostly on volunteers and each other. Missing ppl are still in the thousands.
In Felipe’s defense, after he saw Letizia being escorted away he did manage to break free from his security detail and insisted on talking to people, even under the pelting. I’m no fan of monarchy or Spain’s royal couple, but as far as they go he and Letizia are not the worst.
If you are going to have a monarchy, the way Felipe and Letizia normally do it it seems the way to go. Don’t appear too flashy and approach royal duties and visits like working professionals. Some of the general negativity is due to the way his father completely destroyed his own legacy with his sleazy grifting. And then it seems many of the members of the Spanish public who do pay attention to the monarchy are biased against Letizia. So it has been an uphill battle for them. I don’t know if there will even be a throne for Leonor to inherit by the time it is her turn.
Clearly you are not familiar with the amount of corruption the Bourbon family has taken part in since Juan Carlos was placed on the throne by Dictator Franco. The gift of $100 million from Saudi Arabia is nothing compared to the families fleecing the citizens of Spain, their use of Swiss Bank accounts to avoid paying taxes nor their support of Far Right political parties.
Oh, this is heartbreaking. I hope the government learns and improves from this, as we had to after Hurricane Katrina. Because year after year, in the US, the storms and fires, are getting worse and more frequent. I’m guessing it will be the same there. It will take a long time to recover.
I mean, yeah, he might not have executive power, but it is incredibly bad PR nove to Go there to walk through.
If he wanted to show solidarity, he could have had donated towards relief efforts and volunteered .
Because this WAS a photo-op move, he knew that and still did it.
Bad move, bad, bad move.
I mean they went there empty-handed, I’d be angry too.
Let’s face it, if they waited longer to go they would have been seen as callous and avoidant of the situation. From the news reports I saw yesterday the main ire was towards the government. Letizia took the time to console many of the townspeople with them literally crying into her shoulder both men and women. I understand the anger, grief and frustration of the people and how easy it is to take it out on authority figures and Felipe and Letizia seem to be taking one for the team.
They ARE the team. With all their resources, they could have shown up with real support and real supplies, not just “sympathy” and platitudes.
Let’s face it, their photo-op took resources away from focusing on what is really needed. Preparations were done so the king and queen could do a photo-op. That is one of the reasons for the anger of the people. Frankly, they deserve it. If they waited longer to go they would NOT have been seen as callous and avoidant of the situation since people are aware that preparations need to be done beforehand when royalty visits. They were competing for the scarce and much needed resources for more urgent things than clearing roads & securing areas for the king & queen to visit. If they really care, they should open their palaces to those affected. Give off their own pockets.
There was a lot of tension… They even hit the Prime Minister with a shovel. It has been later reported that far-right groups organized the protest to create a climate of discontent towards the central government. The reality is that the regional government (right and far-right coalition) was the one in charge of the alerts and they failed miserably to alert the people on the day of the floods. People are mad, as they should be, and Felipe and Letizia were at the wrong place at the wrong time.
Everyone knows the PP/Vox government dismantled the Spanish equivalent of FEMA and NOAA as part of their agenda to privatize all government services. This is not news if you live in Spain. We are now seeing the results of these decisions.
Exactly.
This. There was a Region- funded catastrophe response service that was also dismantled. This is main reason why there was almost no help on the ground from minute 0.
For this reason, it’s also been said that this extreme violence towards F&L has been choreographed by local politicians to accelerate a central government relief plan that they think will help them wash their hands.
If I lived in Valencia, I’d keep this day in mind next local elections.
Absolutely heartbroken.
My daughter just graduated this year from the university of Valencia UPV and is back home with me, watching this catastrophe unfold. All her friends are still back there. She was supposed to go visit them next week.
My tenant is from Valencia. Captain of the helicopter search and rescue team. He transferred to the Canaries just a year ago. His uncles and cousins have all lost their cars but are thankfully alive. He told me that a lot of military personnel live in that area that was affected.
I’m not a monarchist but I think Felipe and Leticia are nothing like Charles and Will. They didn’t deserve this treatment!
Everything is slow and chaotic in Spain. But there’s a lot of goodwill and plenty of volunteers, all trying to help.
I saw that chef José Andrés didn’t waste a single second in going to Valencia to help out. Yet, there’s always someone bitching about everything, even about Chef José Andrés!
I’m actually shocked at how close folks were able to get to the King and Queen.
If this had been in the UK, Pegs wouldn’t have shown up until next February.
On the one hand, they did more than what Charles or William would’ve done which was probably putting out a statement while staying in their ivory towers. So I admire them for going out there, but it was handled horribly like others said, it was the wrong time and they should not have shown up empty-handed.
Not a single crane available to get cars out of underground parking garages, still full of water and no doubt corpses. Yet they had cranes to remove cars of volunteers who parked by the side of the road in order to clean things up for the royal visit. Of course people are furious.
I understand the comparison to Hurricane Katrina, but all disasters (having lived through two) are, while disasters, different.
You are mad at the government, no matter who is in power. To this day, the image of George W. Bush looking out a plane window at the destruction of Hurricane Katrina still gets my blood boiling. If you are a leader of a country, get your ass to the destruction and help. Don’t do a fly-by or show-up for a photo-op.
This is how all royals should be treated. They are a relic of the ancient and medieval past and have no place in modern society. They are all detrimental to the goal of equality.
So true.
I understand that the only main road cleared into the town was shut for the visit and that added greatly to the anger.
Where is the local government and the Prime Minister. It makes no sense to get mad at those two, they have no real power and can’t get anything done. I guess if they’re greedily sucking up resources that they do NOT NEED like the BRF……..
I think the royals in this case got the vitriol intended for the politicians. And handled it with dignity.