A CROWD of angry survivors of Spain’s floods threw mud and shouted insults at Spain’s King Felipe VI as he made his first visit to one of the hardest-hit towns on Sunday.
Government officials accompanied the monarch, who tried to talk to some locals while others shouted at him in Paiporta, a town on the outskirts of Valencia that has been devastated.
Police had to step in with officers on horseback to keep back the crowd of several dozens.
“Get out! Get out!” and “Killers!” rang out, among other insults.
After being forced to seek protection from the mud, the King remained calm and made several efforts to speak to individual residents. One person appeared to have wept on his shoulder, and he shook one man’s hand.
Queen Letizia and regional Valencian president Carlo Mazon were also in the contingent.
More than 200 people have died in the flooding, which began on Tuesday, and thousands have had their homes destroyed by the wall of water and mud.
At least 60 of the dead were in Paiporta, an epicentre of suffering.
Indignation at the management of Spain’s worst natural disaster in living memory started after the initial shock wore off.
The floods had already started filling Paiporta with crushing waves when regional officials issued an alert to mobile phones that sounded two hours too late.
More anger has been fuelled by the inability of officials to respond quickly in the aftermath.
Most of the clean-up of the layers and layers of mud and debris that has invaded countless homes has been carried out by residents and thousands of volunteers.
