BETERA, Spain — Spain's King Felipe VI said Tuesday he and his wife Queen Letizia will next week return to the epicenter of the country's catastrophic floods, where survivors heckled and hurled mud at them during their last visit.
"We do not yet have the date or the itinerary, but yes it will take place," the king told reporters during a visit to Betera in the eastern Valencia region where he met with soldiers taking part in the relief work following the October 29 disaster.
"From the outset, we wanted to show our willingness to be present in various ways in all the places affected," added Felipe, dressed in military fatigues.
Palace sources had told Agence France-Presse earlier on Tuesday that the royal couple will travel "early next week" to the Valencia region, which has suffered almost all the destruction and 222 deaths.
King Felipe VI of Spain (center) arrives to meet soldiers taking part in the relief work following deadly flooding, at Jaime I Military base in Betera, in the region of Valencia, eastern Spain, on November 12, 2024. AFP PHOTOFurious residents chanting "murderers" in the ruined Valencia region town of Paiporta pelted the couple and Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez with projectiles and mud on November 3.
While Sanchez and the Valencia region's leader Carlos Mazon were swiftly escorted away, the royals braved the chaos to speak with flood victims.
They have promised to travel to the town of Chiva where their planned visit on the same day was cancelled.
The unrest in Paiporta expressed widespread anger at political leaders for their perceived failure to adequately prepare for and respond to Spain's worst floods in a generation.
The king said he wants to approach his next visit to the affected area "taking into account the circumstances we are living through here, and aware that each of us must be in our place".
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