Anger Erupts During Spanish Royals’ Visit to Flood-Hit Valencia Suburb

Tensions ran high on Sunday as Spain’s King Felipe VI, Queen Letizia, and Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez were met with angry protests and even projectiles during their visit to Paiporta, a suburb of Valencia devastated by last week’s catastrophic floods.

Crowds of furious residents hurled mud, rocks, and insults at the visiting dignitaries, shouting “Murderers, murderers!” in response to what many say was a delayed warning and insufficient emergency response as torrential rains swept through the region, killing at least 217 people — more than 60 of them in Paiporta.

“Please, the dead are still in the garages,” cried local resident Nuria Chisber. “All we wanted was to be warned and we would have been saved.”

In scenes that highlighted the raw emotional toll of the disaster, King Felipe was seen consoling a grieving man, while Queen Letizia, visibly shaken, hugged residents with tears in her eyes and mud on her face. One of her bodyguards sustained injuries from a thrown object as security teams scrambled to protect the royals with umbrellas.

Due to the hostility, a planned visit to the nearby village of Chiva was canceled.

The floods, which hit on October 29–30, are Spain’s deadliest flash flood disaster in modern history and the worst in a single European country since Portugal's 1967 floods. The Valencia region bore the brunt of the destruction. Officials have said dozens remain missing and thousands of homes are without power.

The national government and the Valencia regional administration have traded blame, with Madrid insisting that issuing alerts was a local responsibility. Regional President Carlos Mazón, who also faced jeers in Paiporta, acknowledged the public's outrage, writing on X (formerly Twitter): “I understand the public anger and of course I will stay to receive it. It is my political and moral responsibility.”

Meanwhile, more than 10,000 military personnel and law enforcement officers have joined relief operations — the largest peacetime emergency deployment in Spanish history.

The tragedy has left scars not only on the landscape but also on public trust, as survivors demand answers and accountability amid their grief.