Valencia, Spain — The head of Spain’s eastern Valencia region admitted Friday to “mistakes” in handing the country’s deadliest flood in decades that killed 216 people there.
“I’m not going to deny mistakes,” Carlos Mazon told the regional parliament in an address, adding he was “not going to shirk any responsibility.”
As the head of the regional government “I would like to apologize” to those who “felt” that “the aid did not arrive or was not enough,” he added.
The October 29 disaster marked the country’s deadliest floods in decades. A total of 224 people were killed nationwide, with 216 of them in Valencia.
While he spoke, dozens of protesters gathered outside the regional parliament, jeering and chanting slogans demanding his resignation.
The floods wrecked infrastructure, gutted buildings and submerged fields. The final bill is expected to soar to tens of billions of euros.
Almost half of the people killed in Spain’s Valencia region during recent floods were 70 years old or older and 26 were foreigners, including two Britons.
Outrage at the authorities for their perceived mismanagement before and after the floods triggered mass protests on Saturday, the largest in Valencia city which drew 130,000 people.
Critics have questioned the efficiency of the Valencia region’s alert system during October’s downpour, when in some cases only reached residents’ telephones when floodwater was already gushing through towns.
Many local residents have also complained that they were left without food and water for days, and had to rely on aid provided by volunteers instead of the government.
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