They came by bus, by tractor or on foot. They waded through mud hoping to help clean up neighborhoods washed away by floodwaters that have killed at least 214 people. Thousands of Spanish citizens made their way to flood-ravaged Valencia over the weekend after the country’s worst natural disaster in recent history left the nation shocked by images of overturned cars and brick homes torn apart by furious water.

Spain’s King Felipe VI and top government officials were pelted with mud by a crowd of angry survivors of the recent flooding during the first visit by the country’s leaders to the centre of the suffering.

A crowd of angry survivors of Spain’s floods tossed mud and shouted insults at Spain’s King Felipe VI and government officials when they made their first visit to one of the hardest hit towns on Sunday.

Residents scream "get out" as King Felipe VI and other officials tour one of the worst-hit areas of flood-ravaged Valencia City.

Sánchez was evacuated from the scene, according to Spanish broadcaster RTVE, when the official contingent started to walk the mud-covered streets of Paiporta, one of the hardest hit areas where over 6

Spain’s King Felipe VI, center, leaves the scene after crowd of angry survivors of Spain’s floods have tossed mud and shouted insults at the king and government officials when they made their first visit to one of the hardest hit towns, near Valencia, Spain, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024. (Hugo Torres/AP)

Mud splattered the cheek of Spain's monarch as survivors of catastrophic floods unleashed their fury in a barrage of muck and mire. Felipe VI took it, literally, on the chin, and his determination to stay and speak to the enraged crowd could redefine his reign.