VALENCIA: Spain commemorated Wednesday the anniversary of last year’s massive floods that killed over 230 people with a national memorial ceremony led by King Felipe VI.
The Spanish King spoke along with three family members of victims who lost their lives when torrential rains flooded large parts of eastern Spain on the evening of Oct. 29, 2024.
The downpour quickly filled normally dry gorges and riverbeds. Rushing waters overflowed their banks, sweeping away cars and destroying homes. There are 237 confirmed deaths, with 229 victims from the eastern Valencia region, according to the central government.
It was one of Europe’s worst natural disasters in living memory. Experts and the government said it was a sign of the dangers of climate change that is driving extreme weather events around the world.
The ceremony was held at a public museum in Valencia city, whose southern neighborhoods and adjoining towns were devastated. Cleanup efforts initially led by thousands of residents and volunteers took weeks to scoop up the layers of mud and debris.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, representatives from Spain’s other regions and families of the deceased also attended.
Valencia’s regional president, Carlos Mazón, was jeered and insulted by several family members of victims before the ceremony started.
Mazón has been heavily criticized for his administration’s slow response to the floods. There have been several large street protests calling for Mazón to step down, and the latest one drew tens of thousands of demonstrators a few days before the funeral. Mazón has clung to power nonetheless even though his management of the flooding remains a drag on the prospects of his center-right Popular Party.
Mazón, King Felipe and Sánchez were pelted with mud when the three made their first joint visit last year to the disaster zone with many people still missing and neighborhoods without power and covered in mire. The king has since made several visits to the area and been well received.
Spain holds memorial ceremony for flood victims a year after disaster killed over 230 people
https://arab.news/4z79t
Spain holds memorial ceremony for flood victims a year after disaster killed over 230 people
- The ceremony was held at a public museum in Valencia city
- Mazón has been heavily criticized for his administration’s slow response to the floods
Zelensky says Ukrainian air force needs to improve as Russian drone barrages take a toll
- Zelensky said Friday he had discussed with his defense minister and the air force commander what new air defense measures Ukraine needs to counter the Russian barrages
- Russia fired 328 drones and seven missiles at Ukraine overnight and in the early morning
KYIV: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday described the performance of the air force in parts of the country as “unsatisfactory,” and said that steps are being taken to improve the response to large-scale Russian drone barrages of civilian areas.
The repeated Russian aerial assaults have in recent months focused on Ukraine’s power grid, causing blackouts and disrupting the heating and water supply for families during a bitterly cold winter.
With the war about to enter its fifth year later this month following Russia’s all-out invasion of its neighbor, there is no sign of a breakthrough in US-led peace efforts following the latest talks this week.
Further US-brokered meetings between Russian and Ukrainian delegations are planned “in the near future, likely in the United States,” Zelensky said.
Zelensky said Friday he had discussed with his defense minister and the air force commander what new air defense measures Ukraine needs to counter the Russian barrages. He didn’t elaborate on what would be done.
Russia fired 328 drones and seven missiles at Ukraine overnight and in the early morning, the air force said, claiming that air defenses shot down 297 drones.
One person was killed and two others were injured in an overnight Russian attack using drones and powerful glide bombs on the central Dnipropetrovsk region, according to the head of the regional military administration, Oleksandr Hanzha.
A Russian aerial attack on the southern Zaporizhzhia region during early daylight hours injured eight people and damaged 18 apartment blocks, according to regional military administration head Ivan Fedorov.
A dog shelter in the regional capital was also struck, killing 13 dogs, Zaporizhzhia City Council Secretary Rehina Kharchenko said.
Some dogs were rushed to a veterinary clinic, but they could not be saved, she said. Seven other animals were injured and are receiving treatment.
Amid icy conditions in Kyiv, more than 1,200 residential buildings in multiple districts of the capital have had no heating for days due to the Russian bombardment of the power grid, according to Zelensky.
The UK defense ministry said Friday that Ukraine’s electricity network “is experiencing its most acute crisis of the winter.”
Mykola Tromza, an 81-year-old pensioner in Kyiv, said he has had his power restored, but recently went without heating and water at home for a week.
“I touched my nose and by God, it was like an icicle,” Tromza said. He said he ran up and down to keep warm.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said that air defenses downed 38 Ukrainian drones overnight, including 26 over the Bryansk region.
Bryansk Gov. Alexander Bogomaz said the attack briefly cut power to several villages in the region.
Another Ukrainian nighttime strike damaged power facilities in the Russian city of Belgorod, disrupting electricity distribution, Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov said.
Local reports said that Ukrainian missiles hit a power plant and an electrical substation, cutting power to parts of the city.
Fierce fighting has also continued on the front line despite the frigid temperatures.
Ukraine’s Commander in Chief, Col. Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, said the front line now measures about 1,200 kilometers (750 miles) in length along eastern and southern parts of Ukraine.
The increasing technological improvements to drones on both sides mean that the so-called “kill zone” where troops are in greatest danger is now up to 20 kilometers (12 miles) deep, he told reporters on Thursday in comments embargoed until Friday.
