by Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Europe Bureau Chief
MADRID (Worthy News) – The aftermath of Spain’s worst flooding in recent memory became clearer Monday as Valencia’s regional president, Carlos Mazón, resigned after enduring months of political and public backlash over his handling of the 2024 floods that killed more than 200 people.
“I can’t go on anymore,” Mazón said in an emotional address at the Palau de la Generalitat Valenciana, the seat of the regional government. The conservative leader acknowledged mistakes and delays in the regional response but also accused Spain’s central government of failing to provide adequate emergency aid.
“I hope that when the noise dies down a bit, society will be able to distinguish between a man who made mistakes and a bad person,” Mazón said, according to comments published by El País and Reuters.
The October 2024 floods, triggered by record-breaking rainfall across eastern Spain, devastated Valencia and Alicante provinces, sweeping away homes and vehicles, submerging towns, and leaving more than 200 dead and hundreds injured. Entire coastal neighborhoods were evacuated amid rising waters and collapsed infrastructure.
Meteorologists later described the disaster as Spain’s most lethal flood event in over a century. The government declared several provinces disaster zones, but local officials faced heavy criticism for slow rescue coordination and inadequate early-warning systems.
POLITICAL FALLOUT
Mazón, who led the Valencian People’s Party (PP) government, faced weeks of protests from survivors and victims’ families demanding accountability. Opposition lawmakers accused his administration of prioritizing political image management over relief efforts.
While resigning, Mazón also lashed out at Madrid’s Socialist-led government for “turning its back on Valencia”, claiming the region was left to “face the catastrophe alone.”
His resignation came as a platform representing flood victims called for fresh demonstrations this week, demanding justice and long-term support for reconstruction. Journalists and witnesses are expected to testify in an ongoing judicial inquiry into possible official misconduct during the crisis.
Local Catholic leaders in Valencia have called for “prayers, honesty, and solidarity” with those affected.
Archbishop Enrique Benavent said churches would continue to assist families still struggling to rebuild, urging authorities to ensure “truth and justice accompany every act of recovery.”
Copyright 1999-2025 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
Latest News from Worthy News
Israel’s political crisis deepened this week as former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett renewed demands for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to resign over what critics have dubbed the “Qatargate” affair—claims that Netanyahu’s office and allies firmly reject as a manufactured scandal already dismissed by the courts.
The U.S. economy grew at a robust 4.3% annual rate in the third quarter, marking its fastest expansion in two years, according to new data released Tuesday by the U.S. Commerce Department.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that President Donald Trump can’t use National Guard troops in Chicago to help federal immigration enforcement, in another blow to the president’s push for federalization nationwide.
Libya’s Prime Minister Abdul-Hamid Dbeibah said late Tuesday that the country has suffered a “great loss” after its military chief was confirmed among eight people killed in a private plane crash shortly after takeoff from Turkey’s capital, Ankara.
The Netherlands remained on edge Tuesday after a car drove into a crowd of people waiting to watch a Christmas parade in the eastern Dutch town of Nunspeet, injuring numerous people at a time when Europe has faced several threats against holiday events.
Officials say massive Russian drone and missile strikes on Ukraine have killed at least three people, including a four-year-old child, while cutting power to several regions just two days before Christmas, as the country faces bitter winter cold.
The remaining 130 schoolchildren and staff abducted by gunmen from a Catholic school in Nigeria last month — one of the largest mass kidnappings in the country’s history — have been freed, officials confirmed.