VALENCIA, Spain (AP) 鈥� Thousands of Spaniards marched in the eastern city of Valencia on Saturday to demand the resignation of the regional president in charge of the emergency response to last week鈥檚 that left more than 200 dead and others missing.
Some protestors clashed with riot police in front of Valencia's city hall, where the protestors started their march to the seat of the regional government. Police used batons to beat them back.
Regional leader Carlos Maz贸n is under immense pressure after his administration failed to issue flood alerts to citizens鈥� cellphones until on the night of Oct. 29.
Many marchers held up homemade signs or chanted 鈥淢az贸n Resign!鈥� Others carried signs with messages like 鈥淵ou Killed Us!鈥�
Maz贸n, of the conservative Popular Party, is also being criticized for what people perceive as the slow and chaotic response to the natural disaster. Thousands of volunteers were the in many of the hardest hit areas on Valencia鈥檚 southern outskirts. It took days for officials to mobilize the thousands of police reinforcements and soldiers that the regional government asked central authorities to send in.
In Spain, regional governments are charged with handling civil protection and can ask the national government in Madrid, led by the Socialists, for extra resources.
Maz贸n has defended his handling of the crisis saying that its magnitude was unforeseeable and that his administration didn鈥檛 receive sufficient warnings from central authorities.
But Spain鈥檚 weather agency issued a red alert, the highest level of warning, for bad weather as early as 7:30 a.m. on Tuesday morning as the disaster loomed.
Some communities were flooded by 6 p.m. It took until after 8 p.m. for Maz贸n鈥檚 administration to send out alerts to people鈥檚 cellphones.
The death toll stood at 220 victims on Saturday, with 212 coming in the eastern Valencia region, as the .
Thousands more lost their homes and streets are still covered in mud and debris 11 days since the arrival of a tsunami-like wave following a record deluge.
The Associated Press
