FILE PHOTO: Volunteers remove floodwaters from a community garage, following the deadly October 29 floods in Paiporta, Valencia, Spain, November 16, 2024. REUTERS/Vincent West/File Photo
MADRID (Reuters) - Spain's Deputy Prime Minister Teresa Ribera, who is vying for a top European Commission job, on Wednesday defended the state's handling of last month's deadly floods in Valencia and said climate change was largely to blame for the disaster.
Speaking to lawmakers, Ribera, who is also environment and energy minister, said long-delayed additional flood defences in Valencia region would likely not have prevented the worst flood-related disaster in Spain's history as they had been designed for smaller catastrophes.
