President admits mistakes Almost half of the flood victims in Valencia were over 70 years old
The police have announced the age and gender of the 216 people who died in the flood disaster in the Spanish region of Valencia at the end of October. Older people are particularly at risk.
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- Anger is rising in Spain over the authorities' handling of the flood disaster at the end of October.
- In the Valencia region, 16 people are still missing and 216 people died in the floods.
- Police figures indicate that the elderly and people with reduced mobility are particularly at risk from flooding.
Almost half of the 216 people who died in the catastrophic floods in the eastern Spanish region of Valencia at the end of October were aged 70 or over, according to a police analysis, writes theGuardian. Figures from the Data Integration Center show that 131 of the victims were male, 85 female and 104 over 70 years old, including 15 over 90. Nine children also died.
The flooding followed torrential rainfall, with a year's worth of water falling from the sky within a few hours in some areas of Valencia. Elderly people and people with reduced mobility in particular drowned in their own homes.
Anger is rising in Spain over the authorities' handling of the natural disaster. Last Saturday, 130,000 people took to the streets in Valencia to demand the resignation of the region's president, Carlos Mazón.
Authorities warned people far too late
Mazón, a member of the conservative Popular Party (PP), has come under increasing pressure after it emerged that he failed to cut short his three-hour lunch with a journalist to rush to the emergency response team's command center on October 29, the day the torrential rains hit the region.
Much of the anger also stems from the fact that Mazón's government waited nearly 14 hours on Oct. 29 before sending emergency messages and civil protection measures to people's cell phones, even though the Aemet weather service had issued a series of weather warnings earlier that morning and the night before.
Mazón himself has tried to place the blame on Spain's socialist-led government and even on the military emergency unit (UME) of the armed forces, whose personnel were deployed in large numbers to the region.
Regional president of Valencia admits mistakes
The President of the Spanish region of Valencia admitted on Friday that mistakes had been made in dealing with the dramatic flood disaster and asked for apologies for the delay in helping those affected. "I will not deny mistakes", said Carlos Mazón in a speech to the regional parliament in Valencia. His group had requested that the regional parliament set up a commission of inquiry.
According to Mazón, 16 people were still missing on Friday.
Several dozen people had gathered outside the parliament building to listen to his speech. Shouts of "liar" and "murderer" rang out through the crowd. "This government no longer represents us", shouted demonstrators, who once again demanded Mazón's resignation.
