Millions in Spain and across the world have watched with heartache the images of Valencians coping with the ravages of the worst flash flood in Spaniards’ living memory.

How then did a visit to the disaster zone by Spain’s King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia end in a riot? The royal couple were splattered in mud and showered with missiles by angry locals in the town of Paiporta, where dozens were swept to their deaths in last Tuesday’s torrent.

Once the floodwater receded to reveal a hellish landscape of collapsed bridges, gutted homes and thousands upon thousands of crumpled cars, emotions in Paiporta and affected areas hardened to anger and frustration.

Chief among the complaints were the state’s failure to launch an effective warning about the flood risk and the slow response afterwards to people’s most basic needs amid water and electricity outages.

For several days, residents in Valencia’s working-class southern districts and outlying towns attempted to mop up the oozing layers of mud left by the floodwater with little or no assistance from the local authorities or overstretched emergency services.