VIDEO Tens of thousands of people commemorate in Valencia the victims of the catastrophic floods of 2024
Demonstration in Valencia Photo: Jorge Gil / ContactoPhoto / Profimedia
More than 50,000 demonstrators gathered on Saturday evening in Valencia, in eastern Spain, to pay tribute to the victims of the catastrophic floods of October 2024 and to protest the way the authorities handled the disaster, the prefecture announced, reports AFP, taken by Agerpres.
“Over 50,000 people participated (in the demonstration in) Valencia”, declared the prefecture.
Some of them were holding placards with the word “Justice!” written on them, according to an AFP journalist at the scene.
This demonstration comes nearly a year after floods caused by torrential rains killed 229 people in the Valencia region, the worst disaster of its kind in Spain in decades.
The disaster has angered residents, who have criticized the authorities' handling of rescue and alert efforts amid a dispute between the left-wing central government in Madrid and right-wing regional authorities over their respective powers in these areas.
The local population continues to tirelessly demand that the head of the regional government, Carlos Mazon, be held accountable, being accused of not warning them enough about the danger posed by the torrential rains.
La multitudinaria marcha en València avanza con casi una hora de tardanza respecto lo esperado por la afluencia de gente
🗣️Korean consignas como “el president, a Picassent” o “La Camarero nos lleva al matadero”https://t.co/qOui6fbwqz pic.twitter.com/dnXd9pClZQ
— elDiario.es (@eldiarioes) October 25, 2025
“The alarm sounded practically at the moment when everyone was drowning,” Rosa Alvarez, the president of an association for the victims of the tragedy, told AFP shortly before the start of the rally in Valencia. She lost her 80-year-old father that day. “Every minute counted…”, said the 51-year-old woman, lamenting the failure of the authorities.
According to a poll published in the daily newspaper El Pais at the beginning of October, 71% of the residents of Valencia surveyed believe that Mazon should resign.
A ceremony to pay tribute to the victims of the floods, which will be attended by Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and King Felipe VI of Spain, is planned for Wednesday in Valencia, on the occasion of the anniversary of the tragedy.
