A new report has found that people in flood-hit Spain stacked sandbags and braced for new storms on Tuesday as the political repercussions from last month’s deadly climate disaster rumbled on.
Amid fresh weather warnings, local media reported that King Felipe VI would soon return to the site of the flash floods, after he was pelted with mud and eggs on his first visit last week owing to local fury at the poor preparation and response of the authorities.
Recall that over 100,000 protesters took to the streets at the weekend and there have also been calls for the resignations of rightwing local government leaders, who ignored warnings and blocked measures to address the growing risks posed by human-caused climate disruption. A further protest was held in Barcelona on Tuesday.
Eight Spanish areas were once again put on alert on Tuesday for heavy rain, high waves, and strong winds in the Balearic Islands, Catalonia and Valencia, just two weeks after the downpours that killed at least 214 people.
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The storm is not expected to be as powerful but the impact of the rain could be severe because of the quantities of mud already on the ground and the condition of the sewage system, Rosa Tauris, a spokesperson for Valencia’s emergency committee, told reporters.
In many areas, thousands of children had only just returned to school on Monday, and road clearance and rebuilding work is still under way with support from thousands of military personnel.
A year’s worth of rain lashed down in less than eight hours on 29 October, devastating infrastructure, wrecking crops and causing damage expected to rise to tens of billions of euros.
In what is an increasingly familiar pattern worldwide, scientists had long warned that storms would grow in intensity and frequency as a result of human burning of gas, oil, coal and trees; meteorologists issued alerts in the hours and days before the deluge; and politicians failed to act with sufficient urgency, leading to a furious public backlash.
Story was adapted from The Guardian.
