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Spanish leaders have begun playing the blame game over the country’s deadly flood disaster, a day after angry survivors threw mud and insults at politicians and the king who visited the disaster area. .
Carlos Mazon, head of Valencia’s regional government, went on the offensive on Monday, accusing organizations run by Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s central government of failing to issue flood warnings.
The Socialist-led Sánchez government hit back, accusing Masson of spreading lies in the wake of flash floods that hit Valencia and other parts of southern and eastern Spain last Tuesday.
The riots erupted less than 24 hours after King Felipe and King Felipe visited the disaster-hit town of Paiporta and were showered with mud.
Rescue teams are still searching for victims in the flooded underground parking lot. Meanwhile, distraught residents are appealing for help to clean up the sludge-strewn town, which is littered with crumpled vehicles and belongings ripped from homes in the deluge.
Mazon, whose conservative Popular Party (PP) government is in charge of disaster prevention and relief in Valencia, said his civil protection agency did not contact residents’ mobile phones until after 8pm last Tuesday, when many roads were already without power. It is under pressure after failing to send out an alert. Water poured in and several people died.
But on Monday, central They tried to turn the tables on the government.
Mazon said that if the Valencian government had received the warning from a public agency that manages the region’s river basins and is supervised by the central government, “we would definitely have sent the warning message sooner.” “It would have been done immediately,” he said.
He said public water authorities are part of the Ministry of the Environment, headed by Teresa Rivera, who is likely to be named the new competition and environment secretary and become the European Commission’s top socialist. he pointed out.
Spanish government officials said Mr. Mazon’s comments made no sense and denied his claims that the water authority had sent out three warnings about the river’s levees bursting and then shut them down.
“Water authorities do not issue warnings. Warnings are issued by local emergency services,” one official said. “If the water authority doesn’t issue a warning, they can’t lift the warning either.”
The role of public waters is to provide information about rainfall and water levels in waterways. Heavy rains last week caused rivers to overflow and cause flash flooding in a series of towns and villages near the city of Valencia.
PP national leader Alberto Núñez Feijo has provided unrestrained support to Massón since the floods, declaring the disaster a “national emergency” on Monday and calling for the central government to begin relief efforts. He said he should take responsibility.
Some of Sánchez’s opponents have accused the Socialist Party of mismanaging Spain’s dams and reservoirs, a charge the government denies. One news article suggested that in 2005 the Socialist government blocked the construction of a dam that could have protected the disaster area. Iolanda Marmol, communications director at Rivera, responded: “This is a lie and a delusion. Stop instrumentalizing your pain.”
The European People’s Party, the EU’s parliamentary group that includes the PP, said it wanted answers about the flooding.
Mr Sanchez was evacuated from the disaster-hit town of Paiporta on Sunday amid “attacks and insults” at his office by members of far-right groups. Spain’s interior minister announced that the prime minister was hit in the back with a large stick that was thrown at him. One government official said those responsible would be brought to justice.
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King Felipe continued his visit for more than an hour after Sanchez left. The King then said: “We need to understand the anger and frustration of many people as they have had a terrible time and it is difficult to understand how emergency response mechanisms work.” There is,” he said.
One Paiporta resident tearfully told Telecinco TV on Monday that the dozens of security officials accompanying the king and political leaders on Sunday “should have brought shovels to help.” spoke.
Meanwhile, Barcelona has become the epicenter of a new downpour, prompting Catalonia’s regional government to issue a red alert warning residents to “exercise extreme caution”.
Barcelona’s airport received a quarter of its annual rainfall in just four hours, causing dozens of flights to be delayed or canceled, according to the state weather bureau.
Additional reporting by Andrew Bounds in Brussels
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