Anger and frustration erupted in Spain on Sunday as King Felipe VI arrived in the town of Paiporta to survey the damage from historic flash floods that killed more than 200 people on Tuesday night.
In a chaotic scene, mud, objects and insults were flung at the king as his entourage attempted to hold back a crowd yelling “Murderers, murderers!” and “Get out!”
In one heated exchange, a young man told King Felipe, “It was known and nobody did anything to avoid it,” referencing a belief that the government did not do enough to warn residents of the dangers the rains would bring.
Video posted by the Spanish newspaper El Diario showed a flustered Queen Letizia of Spain spattered in mud as she is confronted by angry residents.
The floods, which dropped 20 months’ worth of rain in just eight hours on the city of Valencia and the surrounding areas, was a sudden, catastrophic event that many felt was worsened by a government response that came too slowly to save lives. Some residents said they received alerts on their phones as the water was already rushing into their homes and cars.
On Sunday, volunteers walked into Valencia and surrounding towns by the thousands, stepping in where some felt the government had fallen short.
Luis Javier Gonzalez, 22, who says he has family in the area, was in Miami when the floods hit. He told The Associated Press he flew in to help out. “There’s way more people helping than the actual government, you know, which is crazy. So sad. Unreal.”
Despite the frustration directed at the government, on the ground, there was a communal spirit. On Saturday, thousands of volunteers gathered at Valencia’s City of Arts and Sciences to receive assignments for the citywide cleanup operation, with thousands more returning on Sunday.
Alejandro Vidal, a doctor who turned up at 7 a.m. to volunteer, told the AP that “there were way more people than expected. There are queues everywhere to send people to different affected areas.”
Cristina Hernandez, who lives in Paiporta, which saw heavy damage from the floods, told NBC’s British partner Sky News, “We feel that we are abandoned by the government and we are helping each other, but there are a lot of thieves in the night so we are scared also.”
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez acknowledged the frustration when he addressed the nation on Saturday.
“I am aware that the response that is being given is not enough. I know that,” he said, listing the government shortfalls and destruction: shortages, collapsed services, towns covered in mud, homes destroyed and people still desperately searching for their families.
“I know we have to do better,” Sánchez said.