A year on, leader of Spain's Valencia region resigns over deadly floods

Valencia's regional leader Carlos Mazon walks ahead of making an official statement in Valencia, Spain. (REUTERS)

Carlos Mazon, the leader of Spain's eastern Valencia region, said on Monday he was stepping down over his administration's handling of catastrophic floods that swept over the region a year ago.

Mazon has faced daily calls for his resignation, including from victims' relatives, since the torrential downpour on October 29, 2024 killed 229 people and caused billions of euros in damages, mainly in suburbs south of Valencia, Spain's third-largest city.

"I can't go on anymore," Mazon told reporters after a speech in which he fiercely criticised the national government's response to the crisis.

He did not say if he was calling a snap election, nor clarify whether he was also quitting his seat in the regional assembly – which would end his parliamentary immunity – nor who his interim successor will be.

Residents of the affected areas accuse the regional government of issuing an alert too late after buildings were already under water and many people were drowning in the worst flood-related event in Europe since 1967.

Mazon's resignation came on the same day Maribel Vilaplana, a local journalist with whom he was eating lunch on the day of the floods, was set to testify before a judge investigating authorities' criminal liability for the deaths.