Crowd hurls mud, insults at Spanish royals, PM on visit to flood zone

Furious locals pelted Spain's royals and premier on Sunday with mud and cries of "murderers!", forcing officials to cut short their visit to the town worst hit by the floods which have killed more than 200.

The angry crowd in the town of Paiporta focused most of its wrath on Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and the head of the Valencia region, both of whom were whisked away by security.

King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia were hit in the face and clothes with mud as they tried to calm the angry crowd, AFP journalists saw.

Broadcast on Spanish television, the extraordinary scenes underscored the depth of the anger in the country over the response to the nation's worst such disaster in decades, with the toll ever rising and hopes for finding survivors ebbing five days on.

The king and queen arrived just after midday at a crisis centre in Paiporta, ground zero for a disaster Sanchez called the second deadliest flood in Europe this century.

But more security guards were soon called to stand between the royals and the rest of the delegation and the angry crowd, whose ire seemed most directed at Sanchez and Valencia region head Carlos Mazon.

"I understand the social anger and of course, I'm here to receive it. This is my political and moral obligation," Mazon later said in a post on X while calling the king's conduct "exemplary".

The king and queen spent an hour trying to calm tempers before leaving themselves, while Sanchez and the politicians quickly left, not before the rear window of the premier's vehicle was broken.

Sanchez later said while he empathised with the "anguish and suffering" of the victims, he condemned "all forms of violence".

Nearly all the flood deaths have been in the Valencia region, where Spain's meteorological agency on Sunday issued a fresh warning for heavy downpours in the region.

Up to 90 litres per square metre (22 gallons per square yard) of water could fall in places in the province of Castellon and the area surrounding the city of Valencia, the agency forecasted.

It also sounded the alarm for torrential rain that may cause flooding in the southern province of Almeria, advising residents not to travel unless strictly necessary.

'Towns buried by mud'

Since Tuesday's torrent of rain and mud swept away vehicles and devastated towns and infrastructure, thousands of emergency responders have frantically cleared debris in the search for bodies.

Authorities have come under fire over the warning systems before the floods, while stricken residents say the disaster response has been too slow.

Mazon himself has faced fierce criticism for waiting too long to issue a phone alert in Valencia.

"I am aware the response is not enough, there are problems and severe shortages... towns buried by mud, desperate people searching for their relatives... we have to improve," Sanchez said.

With an extra 10,000 troops, police and civil guards sent to the Valencia region, Spain was carrying out its largest deployment of military and security force personnel in peacetime, Sanchez said.

"Thank you to the people who have come to help us, to all of them, because from the authorities: nothing," a furious Estrella Caceres, 66, told AFP in the town of Sedavi.

In Chiva, Danna Daniella said she had been cleaning her restaurant for three days straight.

She said she was still in shock, haunted by memories of the people trapped by the raging floodwaters "asking for help and there was nothing we could do".

"It drives you crazy. You look for answers and you don't find them."

Volunteers out in droves

Transport Minister Oscar Puente told El Pais daily that certain places would probably remain inaccessible by land for weeks.

Ordinary citizens carrying food, water and cleaning equipment have continued to assist the recovery, although authorities have urged people to stay at home to avoid congestion.

On Sunday, the Valencian government limited the number of volunteers authorised to travel to the city's southern suburbs to 2,000 and restricted access to 12 localities.

Despite this thousands made their way to nearby communes on foot, carrying brooms and shovels to help those affected.

Pope Francis offered his prayers to those hit by the disaster "who are suffering so much these days".

The storm that sparked the floods on Tuesday formed as cold air moved over the warm waters of the Mediterranean and is common for this time of year.

But scientists warn climate change driven by human activity is increasing the ferocity, length and frequency of such extreme weather events.

Emergency services on Sunday updated the toll to 217 people confirmed killed.

It listed 213 dead in the Valencia region, one in Andalusia in the south and three in Castilla-La Mancha neighbouring Valencia, where the body of a woman in her 60s was discovered on Sunday.

Authorities have warned the toll could yet rise, as vehicles trapped in tunnels and underground car parks are cleared.