1 of 2 | Spain’s King Felipe visited Valencia province on Sunday, where a crowd of angry citizens threw eggs and mud and shouted insults at the royal family and other officials. Photo by Bienne Alino/EPA-EFE

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and regional governor Carlos Mazon accompanied them. Authorities have been criticized for their slow response to the historic floods and humanitarian disaster that followed.

When the officials posed for a photo, the crowd began hurling insults at them, prompting security officers to open their umbrellas to protect the officials from the projectiles.

At one point, the king lowered his umbrella to hear from a local person affected by the historic floods as police struggled to contain the angry crowd. Queen Letizia also spoke to residents and appeared visibly shaken with her head in her hands.

Sanchez’s office said he was taken away due to security protocol. Mazon also reportedly left the area.

The king and queen remained there. They embraced the distraught members of the crowd, kissed them on the head and offered them assurances of their help, published videos by the spectacle of the Spanish royal family.

Felipe’s jacket was stained with mud. Letizia took the women’s hands in hers, hugged the residents and offered them support.

The national response to the historic floods has been criticized as slow and uncoordinatedwhich infuriated many people in Valencia. The text message alerts came within hours of the weather service’s flood warnings, they said.

Sanchez, who on Saturday ordered 5,000 additional troops to help with rescue efforts in flooded areas, called the storm “the worst natural disaster” in the county’s history and admitted that the initial response was not enough. was “not sufficient”.

At least 214 people have now died as a result of the floods and the toll could rise further. A 70-year-old woman is one of the latest victims. His body was found more than 11 km from his home.

The Spanish weather agency issued a new red level weather alert in the coastal region of Valencia on Sunday, ahead of more rain expected. Local police were roaming the streets of Aldaia, eastern Spain, advising residents through megaphones to return home and avoid areas near the local ravine.

Aldaia Mayor Guillermo Lujan urged residents to social media posts to leave their workplace, advising them to get off the streets due to the latest alert.

Further south, the regional government of Murcia sent an SMS alert asking residents of Mazarrón to avoid certain areas as recent rains are causing water levels to rise.