Spain’s King Felipe and Queen Letizia were pelted with mud by crowds during their visit to the region last week, as anger fermented among communities who said they felt abandoned by authorities in the wake of the natural disaster, with troops and police deployed to assist communities in affected areas.

An estimated 130,000 people took to the streets of Valencia on Saturday, protesting the government’s handling of recent catastrophic floods that claimed over 220 lives, demanding accountability from regional officials.

The water was already knee-high on the ground floor of the hotel where Aitana Puchal had taken refugee when she received a text alert from the regional government of Valencia at 8 pm on Oct. 29 warning people to shelter in place from severe flash floods.

Tens of thousands of people marched Saturday in Valencia to voice their anger at the authorities' handling of deadly floods. Thousands also marched in other Spanish cities, but the Valencia regional authorities put the turnout in the regional capital at 130,