As Spain grapples with the fallout from the floods that hit on Tuesday, suspicions have already begun, with disaster relief officials accused of slow responses.
Much of the country has been hit hard by heavy rain and hail, causing flash floods in many areas that have claimed at least 72 lives.
But the civil protection agency, which is used during natural disasters, did not issue a warning until 20:15 local time on Tuesday, when the floods had already caused serious damage.
“The magnitude of the disaster raises doubts about whether people were warned too late: Civil Protection sent out warnings when cities were already flooded,” read a headline on the website of El Mundo newspaper.
As the newspaper goes on to show, “hundreds of people were trapped overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday in industrial areas and on the streets because the roads were already closed and access was blocked.”
Criticism is spreading on social media as people question why local governments and politicians were not better prepared.
Lawyer Isabel Díaz wrote: “The handling of what happened in Valencia has been careless and careless. “People have died because of the incompetence of those in charge.”
Another social media user, whose name is Santo March, said the national meteorological agency “can’t predict this, but it can predict the weather in 20-30 years”.
At the same time, cost cutting appears as another possible cause.
The president of the region of Valencia, the conservative Carlos Mazón, has been forced to defend his decision to abolish the Valencia Emergency Unit (UVE) on the grounds that it was not working properly.
The UVE was created by the previous, left-wing government, to respond to weather-related emergencies such as floods or wildfires. When he took office last year, Mr Mazón was quick to abolish it, with his People’s Party (PP) describing the organization as a “shadow outfit”.
In a statement, the trade union Intersindical attacked the decision, saying that “by prioritizing short-term interests, it contributes to environmental damage and exacerbates the effects of extreme weather”.
Catalan politician Gabriel Rufián also criticized the dissolution of UVE, saying that Mr Mazón was “proud” of disbanding the organisation.
The Valencia regional government responded that UVE was “just another fictional organization, with zero firefighters, equipment and zero efficiency”.
However, others have pointed to the appearance of the leader of Valencia in front of the media on Tuesday, where he said that the heavy rain is expected to “reduce its power” from about 18: 00 local time.
Instead, it began to wreak havoc across the world.
Politicians in other affected cities have been more vocal. Andreu Salom, the mayor of L’Alcúldia, said he felt “abandoned and completely powerless”.
“As the mayor, no one can inform me of the danger that the Magre river may break its banks,” he said. “The city is full of water, mud and debris.”
Mr. Mazón emphasized that the emergency services have been on alert since Monday and that the unusual nature of the weather event makes it difficult to know exactly what to advise Valencians.
“The experts spoke of an unprecedented situation,” he said, citing “the existing meteorological situation”.
Meanwhile, activists have called for immediate and strong action to stop climate change, which they say is responsible for the floods.
Eva Saldaña, executive director of Greenpeace Spain, said “the climate emergency is not an abstract concept, but a reality that affects our lives and, in this case, takes lives”.
Jorge Olcina, a climate scientist from the University of Alicante and author of a recent report on climate change in Spain, told Cadena Ser radio that the recent floods are “Mediterranean evidence of climate change,” explaining, “climate change.” how it rains”.
He also said that the warnings issued by the national meteorological agency should have been enough to keep people inside and away from danger, but he said “people want to live a normal life even if there is a red warning”.
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