Tens of thousands of people filled the streets of Valencia on Saturday to commemorate one year since the devastating ‘DANA’ floods that claimed 229 lives – and to condemn what they see as the authorities’ disastrous handling of the tragedy.
Many of those marching carried photos of loved ones lost in the disaster, demanding the resignation of regional president Carlos Mazón of the right-wing People’s Party (PP), for what they call a slow and negligent response to one of Europe’s deadliest natural catastrophes in recent decades. ALSO READ: Tens of thousands rally against leader of flood-hit Valencia – the 5th major protest.
Mazón’s government has faced intense backlash for failing to issue mobile phone alerts until flooding was already underway in several areas on 29 October 2024. The alerts went out more than 12 hours after Spain’s national weather agency AEMET had declared its highest warning level for torrential rain.
Residents told Spanish media that by the time the messages arrived, floodwaters were already engulfing cars, submerging streets, and pouring into homes.
The flooding devastated 78 municipalities, mostly in Valencia’s southern suburbs, and left 229 people dead across the region. One victim’s body was recovered as recently as Tuesday. ALSO READ: Spain to honour victims of Valencia floods in state memorial service.
Despite the mounting danger, Mazón spent part of that day at a very long lunch with a journalist and later appeared in photographs posted by his team receiving a sustainable tourism award.
The central government’s office in Valencia estimated that more than 50,000 people joined Saturday’s demonstration, though organisers did not release their own count. Protesters moved through Spain’s third-largest city carrying banners calling for Mazón to step down — or even face jail.
Under Spain’s devolved system, responsibility for disaster management lies with regional authorities.
Mazón has insisted his administration lacked sufficient information to issue earlier warnings.
A recent El País poll found that 71% of Valencia residents believe Mazón should resign.
Nearly half of those who perished in the floods were aged 70 or older, a detail many protesters emphasised as proof that the authorities failed to safeguard the most vulnerable.
Rosa Álvarez, head of an association representing victims and one of the march’s organisers, blames the regional government’s inaction for her father’s death. Her 80-year-old father was already drowning, she told Spanish media, ‘by the time the mobile phone alert was issued’, the walls of his Catarroja home already destroyed by the floodwaters.
Campaigners have continued to hold monthly demonstrations against Mazón, often timed to the anniversaries of the tragedy.
Despite his deep unpopularity, PP national leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo has stood by Mazón – a move analysts say is driven by political necessity. Mazón’s resignation would force early elections in Valencia, an outcome commentators warn could prove ‘catastrophic’ for both the PP and Feijóo’s leadership.
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⚫️ La alarma vuelve a sonar en recuerdo a las 229 víctimas mortales de la riada.
— RTVE Comunitat Valenciana (@RTVEValencia) October 25, 2025
La manifestación por la dimisión de Carlos Mazón ha culminado en la plaza de la Virgen de València.@rtvenoticias pic.twitter.com/h0KtwHOmde
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