VALENCIA, Spain (AP) — Thousands of Spaniards marched Saturday in the eastern city of Valencia to demand the resignation of the regional president in charge of the emergency response to last week’s catastrophic floods that left more than 200 people dead and others missing.

Some protesters clashed with riot police in front of Valencia’s town hall, where they began their march toward the regional government headquarters. The police used batons to push them back.

Regional leader Carlos Mazón is under immense pressure after his administration failed to issue flood warnings to citizens’ cell phones until hours after flooding began on the night of October 29.

Many demonstrators held homemade signs or chanted “Mazón Resign!” Others carried signs with messages like “You killed us!” »

Mazón, of the conservative Popular Party, is also criticized for what people perceive as a slow and chaotic response to the natural disaster. Thousands of volunteers were the first to hit the ground in many of the hardest-hit areas of Valencia’s southern suburbs. It took days for authorities to mobilize the thousands of police and soldier reinforcements that the regional government had asked central authorities to send.

In Spain, regional governments are responsible for managing civil protection and can request additional resources from the socialist-led national government in Madrid.

Mazón defended his handling of the crisis, saying its scale was unpredictable and that his administration did not receive enough warning from central authorities.

But Spain’s weather agency issued a red alert, the highest alert level, for severe weather as early as 7:30 a.m. Tuesday morning, as disaster loomed.

Some communities were flooded around 6 p.m. It took until 8 p.m. for the Mazón administration to send alerts to people’s cell phones.

The death toll rose to 220 on Saturday, including 212 in the eastern region of Valencia, while the search for bodies continues.

Thousands more have lost their homes and streets are still covered in mud and debris 11 days after a tsunami-like wave arrived following a record deluge.

Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.