03:51Up to tens of thousands of demonstrators marched on the streets of Valencia on Saturday to demand the resignation of the state's government, following its blundering response to the storm DANA which wrecked havoc across the region and killed at least 220.
Footage shows the protesters marching, chanting, holding banners and placards bearing slogans such as 'Our deaths, your profit', 'Politicians and businessmen are guilty and murderers' and 'Our hands are full of mud, yours are full of blood', among others.
They were later seen gathering in front of the Generalitat Valenciana's headquarters to denounce the local authorities' handling of the crisis.
The protesters expressed dissent towards state leader Carlos Mazon, calling for his resignation and criticising his government's inadequacy when dealing with the calamity.
"This person is the president of the people and he has not been at all. He is responsible for everybody and he is not up to the task. Please, he should go home and leave people who know how to manage, because he still doesn't know how to manage," a demonstrator voiced her opinion.
"The level of incompetence has been brutal. The autonomous government, which had the capacity to raise the alarm at the time and did not do so, and I believe that the Valencian people have shown more attitude and more solidarity and more effort than all the politicians who have not taken the decisions they should have taken," added another protester.
Clashes were also reported between police and the protesters, with the law enforcement officers presumably using batons to disperse the crowd in front of the city hall.
Regional leader Mazon has faced widespread criticism for a slow and chaotic emergency response, issuing flood alerts hours after the worst of the flooding had subsided. Valencia was hit by unprecedented flooding last week as the DANA storm swallowed roads and destroyed homes, killing at least 215 people, according to Spain's interior ministry on Monday, with the number of fatalities expected to rise.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced an aid package for Valencia amounting to 10.6 billion euros and said around 15,000 troops were deployed to the region.
Authorities have been criticised for their response to the disaster. On Sunday angry protesters threw mud at Sanchez, King Felipe and Queen Letizia shouting 'murderers' and 'get out'.
Sanchez met with EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday, who said the bloc had activated the Copernicus satellite system, an earth monitoring programme, to help coordinate rescue efforts and pledged that the EU will help Spain.
'Level of incompetence has been brutal' - Thousands rally in Valencia against govt's inefficient handling of floods crisis
Up to tens of thousands of demonstrators marched on the streets of Valencia on Saturday to demand the resignation of the state's government, following its blundering response to the storm DANA which wrecked havoc across the region and killed at least 220.
Footage shows the protesters marching, chanting, holding banners and placards bearing slogans such as 'Our deaths, your profit', 'Politicians and businessmen are guilty and murderers' and 'Our hands are full of mud, yours are full of blood', among others.
They were later seen gathering in front of the Generalitat Valenciana's headquarters to denounce the local authorities' handling of the crisis.
The protesters expressed dissent towards state leader Carlos Mazon, calling for his resignation and criticising his government's inadequacy when dealing with the calamity.
"This person is the president of the people and he has not been at all. He is responsible for everybody and he is not up to the task. Please, he should go home and leave people who know how to manage, because he still doesn't know how to manage," a demonstrator voiced her opinion.
"The level of incompetence has been brutal. The autonomous government, which had the capacity to raise the alarm at the time and did not do so, and I believe that the Valencian people have shown more attitude and more solidarity and more effort than all the politicians who have not taken the decisions they should have taken," added another protester.
Clashes were also reported between police and the protesters, with the law enforcement officers presumably using batons to disperse the crowd in front of the city hall.
Regional leader Mazon has faced widespread criticism for a slow and chaotic emergency response, issuing flood alerts hours after the worst of the flooding had subsided. Valencia was hit by unprecedented flooding last week as the DANA storm swallowed roads and destroyed homes, killing at least 215 people, according to Spain's interior ministry on Monday, with the number of fatalities expected to rise.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced an aid package for Valencia amounting to 10.6 billion euros and said around 15,000 troops were deployed to the region.
Authorities have been criticised for their response to the disaster. On Sunday angry protesters threw mud at Sanchez, King Felipe and Queen Letizia shouting 'murderers' and 'get out'.
Sanchez met with EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday, who said the bloc had activated the Copernicus satellite system, an earth monitoring programme, to help coordinate rescue efforts and pledged that the EU will help Spain.
Up to tens of thousands of demonstrators marched on the streets of Valencia on Saturday to demand the resignation of the state's government, following its blundering response to the storm DANA which wrecked havoc across the region and killed at least 220.
Footage shows the protesters marching, chanting, holding banners and placards bearing slogans such as 'Our deaths, your profit', 'Politicians and businessmen are guilty and murderers' and 'Our hands are full of mud, yours are full of blood', among others.
They were later seen gathering in front of the Generalitat Valenciana's headquarters to denounce the local authorities' handling of the crisis.
The protesters expressed dissent towards state leader Carlos Mazon, calling for his resignation and criticising his government's inadequacy when dealing with the calamity.
"This person is the president of the people and he has not been at all. He is responsible for everybody and he is not up to the task. Please, he should go home and leave people who know how to manage, because he still doesn't know how to manage," a demonstrator voiced her opinion.
"The level of incompetence has been brutal. The autonomous government, which had the capacity to raise the alarm at the time and did not do so, and I believe that the Valencian people have shown more attitude and more solidarity and more effort than all the politicians who have not taken the decisions they should have taken," added another protester.
Clashes were also reported between police and the protesters, with the law enforcement officers presumably using batons to disperse the crowd in front of the city hall.
Regional leader Mazon has faced widespread criticism for a slow and chaotic emergency response, issuing flood alerts hours after the worst of the flooding had subsided. Valencia was hit by unprecedented flooding last week as the DANA storm swallowed roads and destroyed homes, killing at least 215 people, according to Spain's interior ministry on Monday, with the number of fatalities expected to rise.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced an aid package for Valencia amounting to 10.6 billion euros and said around 15,000 troops were deployed to the region.
Authorities have been criticised for their response to the disaster. On Sunday angry protesters threw mud at Sanchez, King Felipe and Queen Letizia shouting 'murderers' and 'get out'.
Sanchez met with EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday, who said the bloc had activated the Copernicus satellite system, an earth monitoring programme, to help coordinate rescue efforts and pledged that the EU will help Spain.