Protesters urge regional Spanish leader to quit a year after deadly floods

Tens of thousands of people took to the streets in Valencia on Saturday, demanding the resignation of conservative regional leader Carlos Mazon over his handling of the flash floods that killed 229 people nearly a year ago.

Protesters, carrying banners with slogans such as "Mazon to prison" and chanting "They didn't die, they were murdered," gathered in the center of Valencia for the 12th time since the devastating floods occurred almost exactly one year ago.

"I've lost everything, but it's not the material things that matter, it's the human lives lost. And they could have been prevented," said Cristina Guzman Trabero, a 71-year-old flood survivor, speaking to Reuters. "We're here demanding justice. We want nothing else."

Residents of the affected areas have accused the regional government of issuing the flood alert too late, by which time buildings were already submerged and many people were drowning in what became the most catastrophic flood disaster in Europe since 1967.

A judicial investigation is currently underway into the emergency response. On Thursday, the court summoned a local journalist who had lunch with Mazon on the day of the floods, October 29, 2024.

Spanish authorities also announced on Thursday that the body of a 56-year-old man had been found buried in mud a year after being swept away by the floodwaters.

The devastating floods were caused by a severe weather system known locally as DANA, where cold and warm air meet, generating powerful rain clouds. This phenomenon is believed to be occurring more frequently due to climate change.

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