Tens of thousands protest and demand regional head resign | Global News Avenue

Tens of thousands of people have protested in Valencia over the authorities’ handling of recent deadly floods, demanding the resignation of regional chief Carlos Masson.

Protesters took to the streets on Saturday night, chanting “We’re covered in dirt, you’re covered in blood.”

In October, Valencia and neighboring provinces were hit by heavy rains, causing floods that killed more than 200 people. Eighty people are still missing.

Protesters accused local authorities of issuing flood warnings too late.

As the demonstration drew to a close, angry protesters clashed with police.

Images showed Valencia’s city hall covered in mud, while Reuters reported that protesters threw chairs and other objects.

The city’s mayor, María José Catalá, posted photos of broken windows and a video of what appeared to be a fire on social media, adding: “Vandalism is not the answer.”

Valencia city council condemned the “acts of vandalism” and said the city had also been affected by the flooding.

“We want to express our outrage and anger at the mismanagement of this disaster that has affected so many people,” Anna Oliver, one of the protest organizers, told Reuters.

Last week, Spain’s king and queen were pelted with dirt and other objects by angry protesters during a visit to the worst-hit town of Piporta.

Objects were also thrown at Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who was quickly evacuated.

Thousands of people have lost their homes and streets in many areas are still covered in mud and rubble.

Masson of the conservative People’s Party defended his actions. He said his officials had not received adequate warning from the central government and that the scale of the disaster was unforeseen.

In Spain, local governments handle disaster response and can request additional resources from the central government in Madrid.

Spain’s weather agency issued storm warnings for the region starting on October 25, but authorities in Valencia did not issue alerts to local mobile phones until hours after the flooding began.

The local councilor responsible for emergencies has since admitted she was unaware of a system in place to send phone alerts.

Local media reported that Mazón had lunch with a reporter after the flooding began and did not attend an emergency coordination meeting until 19:00 local time (18:00 GMT).

Government sources told El Pais that it was “irrelevant” and that Masson was constantly notified of the incident.

The floods in Valencia were caused by Dana phenomena – when warm, moist air meets cold air, creating an unstable weather system.

Scientists say a warming climate is making flooding worse.