Spain’s regional leader admits mistakes made as a result of floods, but refuses to step down

MADRID (AP) – The leader of a Spanish region facing intense pressure over his handling of the Valencia floods last month rejected calls for him to step down Friday, but acknowledged that authorities had made mistakes in their response to the disaster.

More than 220 people were killed as a result of the powerful storms on October 29 that brought tsunami-like waves to the eastern and central parts of Spain, destroying countless houses and leaving entire cities covered in mud.

Carlos Mazón of the conservative Popular Party spoke to regional lawmakers in Valencia more than two weeks later, saying he “will not deny failure” as anger continues to grow over what people see as a slow and chaotic response.

He said the storm “showed that our identification and warning systems have cracks in them.”

His comments on Friday were the first detailed comments he has made about his government’s woes, coming six days after tens of thousands of people took to the streets of the city of Valencia to demand he step down.

Criticism grew after local authorities failed to send emergency alerts quickly to cellphones on Oct. 29, despite the fact that the Spanish weather forecaster issued the highest warning at 7:30 am that day.

Spaniards, particularly in Valencia, have been critical of some aspects of the regional and national government’s initial response to the disaster. For Paiporta who was hit hard, survivors threw mud at Prime Minister Pedro SánchezKing Felipe VI, and Mazón when the three leaders visited the city a few days after the floods.

Mazón’s reputation took another hit this week when local media reported that he had a three-hour lunch with a reporter on the day of the storm, and other cities and towns have begun to flood.

On Friday, Mazón repeated an earlier statement that the national organization in charge of measuring the flow of rivers did not give enough warnings, and said that the magnitude of the flood was difficult to predict.

“It is legitimate to ask in general whether the (emergency) system responded in the way we believed it should have responded,” Mazón said, adding that it did not.

Spain’s devolved government gives regional authorities the responsibility for public protection. Regional governments can ask the national government in Madrid, now led by the Socialists, for more resources, and use information from the national weather forecaster and other agencies.

Science minister Diana Morant, a member of the Socialist party, called Mazon’s speech “an act of political cowardice.” He said the Popular Party should expel him.

Most of the victims of last month’s floods died in small towns just outside Valencia. Official data released Thursday showed nearly half were 70 or older.