Tens of thousands of people marched through the streets of Valencia on Saturday, demanding the resignation of conservative regional leader Carlos Mazon over his handling of last year’s catastrophic flash floods that killed 229 people.
Protesters, carrying banners reading “Mazon to prison” and chanting “They didn’t die, they were murdered,” filled the city centre for the 12th anniversary demonstration since the floods struck almost exactly one year ago.
“I have lost everything, but what matters is not the material losses but the human losses. And they could have been avoided,” said 71-year-old flood survivor Cristina Guzman Trabero. “We are here demanding justice. We don’t want anything else.”
Residents have accused the regional government of issuing flood alerts too late, after buildings were already submerged and people were trapped. The floods are considered the deadliest in Europe since 1967.
A judicial investigation into the emergency response is ongoing. On Thursday, a local journalist was summoned by the court for questioning after having lunch with Mazon on the day of the floods, October 29, 2024. Authorities also reported that the body of a 56-year-old man swept away during the disaster was discovered buried in mud, nearly a year after the event.
The floods were triggered by a severe weather system known locally as DANA, where cold and warm air masses collide to produce intense rainfall. Experts warn that such extreme weather events may become more frequent due to climate change.
