Spain deploys more troops to help rescue after flooding

Spain sent more soldiers to flood-hit eastern regions of the country on Monday as rescuers scoured underground car parks for bodies, following the disaster that has so far killed at least 217 people.

Over the weekend, around 5,000 soldiers were sent to affected areas, mainly near the city of Valencia, to help distribute food and water, clean up streets and guard against looters. A further 2,500 would join them, Defense Minister Margarita Robles told radio broadcaster RNE.

According to Reuters, a warship carrying 104 marine infantry soldiers as well as trucks with food and water was approaching Valencia port even as a strong hailstorm pummeled Barcelona some 300 km to the north. An alert from regional authorities warned of potential landslides and more flooding.

During a visit on Sunday to the town of Palporta, which was badly affected by last Tuesday's devastating flash flood, which saw a year's worth of rain come down in hours, Spain's King Felipe, Queen Letizia, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, and Valencia's regional premier faced angry protesters who threw mud at them.

While the royals had planned to personally greet residents of Paiporta and Chiva, two of the hardest-hit towns, the monarchs and top officials, including Valencia's leader Carlos Mazon, were instead booed and subjected to cries of "murderers" and "grab a shovel", reported national daily newspaper El Pais.
People hurled stones and sticks at the group of officials as they passed by, damaging one of their vehicles and injuring several security members.

Bodyguards shielded the group with umbrellas as they quickly evacuated them from the barrage of mud.

The newspaper said residents expressed a sense of abandonment and questioned why last Tuesday's stay-at-home alert was issued only after flood waters had begun surging through their communities.

Paiporta's residents complain that official aid has been lacking and was mostly provided instead by self-organized volunteers.

Security officials later called the royal visit a "mistake" and "foreseeable", leading authorities to cancel a second planned afternoon stop in the town of Chiva.

Later on Sunday, in a video posted online, the king told the country to "understand the anger and frustration" of people in the Valencia region.