By David Latona, Corina Pons, Pietro Lombardi and Aislinn Laing PAIPORTA, Spain (Reuters) - 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.

VALENCIA is ground zero for the worst natural disaster to hit Spain in a century, claiming at least 95 lives. But it is certainly not the first time that

Valencian regional authorities reported that the fatalities include 211 in Valencia, two in Castilla La Mancha, and one in Andalusia. This disaster has been marked Europe’s most severe flood-related catastrophe since 1967 when floods in Portugal resulted in over 500 deaths.

Climate change helps explains why the storms and floods were so extreme. But questions have emerged about whether communication failures contributed to the toll.

Protesters filled the streets of Valencia to demand accountability for the handling of catastrophic floods that have claimed more than 200 people.

By Graham Keeley VALENCIA (Reuters) -Tens of thousands of people demonstrated in the eastern Spanish city of Valencia on Saturday over regional authorities' handling of devastating floods that killed more than 220 people in one of Europe's worst natural disasters for decades.

Thousands of people demonstrated in Valencia. The protests are a response to the way regional authorities have handled the devastating floods, reports Reuters. In the latest demonstration over the floods,

The Spanish are continuing to deal with the aftermath of a tragic flood that struck the southeastern regions at the end of October. The most significant flood in a decade claimed the lives of 223 people.