PAIPORTA, Spain — An angry mob of survivors hurled mud pellets left behind by storm-induced flooding at the Spanish royal couple on Sunday during their first visit to the epicenter of their country’s deadliest natural disaster in memory.

Spain’s national broadcaster reported that several rocks and other objects were found in the dam and that two injured guards were being treated. One could be seen to have a bloody wound on his forehead.

It was an unprecedented event for a royal family that carefully cultivates the image of monarchs admired by its country of more than 48 million people.

Spain’s anger was unleashed against a state that appeared overwhelmed and unable to meet the needs of people accustomed to living under an effective government.

Authorities also removed Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez from the scene shortly after he began walking through the mud-covered streets of one of the worst-hit regions, where more than 60 people were killed and thousands of lives were shattered. The disaster caused by climate change caused the death of at least 205 people in eastern Spain.

“Get out! Get out!” and “Murderers!” The crowd in the town of Paiporta shouted, among other insults. Guards opened umbrellas to protect royals and other officials from the mud flying around.

Police, some mounted officers, had to step in to hold back the crowd of several dozen people, some wielding shovels and sticks.

Queen Letizia burst into tears of empathy after speaking to many people, including a woman crying in her arms. One of the queen’s bodyguards later suffered a bloody gash on his forehead and a hole in the rear window of the prime minister’s official car.

But even after being forced to seek protection, King Felipe VI remained calm, with mud stains on his face, and made various efforts to speak with the inhabitants. He insisted on trying to talk to people while trying to continue his visit. He spoke to a few people, patted the backs of two young men with mud stains on his black raincoat, and gave them a quick hug.

Yet one woman hit an official car with an umbrella, and another kicked it before the car sped away.

Felipe and Letizia’s public events, while far from inspiring the British passion for royals, are often greeted by crowds of admirers.

Felipe, 56, took the throne when his father, Juan Carlos, abdicated in 2014 after being tainted by financial and personal scandals of his own making. Felipe immediately cut a new figure, giving up his personal inheritance and increasing the financial transparency of the royal family. He and Letizia, 52, a former journalist, devote a significant part of their public agenda to cultural and scientific purposes.

Visits to sites of national tragedies are part of royal duties for monarchs who are seen as a stabilizing force in the parliamentary monarchy reestablished after the death of dictator Francisco Franco in 1975.

The king then told regional officials at the command post of emergency response efforts that they should “give hope to those affected by the floods and meet their needs, ensuring that the state is on their side.”

Public anger is growing over the haphazard handling of the crisis. Felipe heard some jeers when he attended a memorial service for those killed in the deadly terrorist attack in Barcelona in 2017, but that didn’t compare to Sunday’s reception.

The Queen had small lumps of mud on her hands and arms as she spoke to the women.

“We don’t have any water,” a woman told him.

Five days after the flood, many people still do not have drinking water. Internet and mobile phone coverage remains spotty. Most people only got electricity on Saturday. Shops and supermarkets are in ruins, and in Paiporta, a city of 30,000, many city blocks are still completely clogged with piles of debris, countless wrecked cars and the ubiquitous layer of mud.

Thousands of people’s homes were destroyed by a tsunami-like mud wave, sparking anger over the mismanagement of the disaster.

Flooding had already hit Paiporta when district officials put out an alert on their mobile phones. It felt like two hours late.

The failure of the authorities to respond quickly to what happened increased the anger even more. Much of the cleaning up of the layers of mud and rubble that had invaded countless homes was done by area residents and thousands of volunteers.

“We lost everything!” someone shouted.

Sunday’s cries included demands for the resignation of regional Valencian President Carlo Mazón, whose administration is responsible for civilian protection, as well as “Where is Pedro Sánchez?”

“I understand the anger and of course I stayed to endure it,” Mazón told X. “This was my moral and political obligation. The king’s conduct this morning was exemplary.”

Spanish national broadcaster RTVE reported that several rocks and other hard objects were thrown at the dam targeting the royals, that two guards were treated for injuries, and that monarchs and officials canceled another stop on Sunday in Chiva, the second hard-hit village. About half an hour east of the city of Valencia.

Sánchez said rescue efforts would not be hampered by the incident.

“I want to express all the solidarity of my government and its recognition of the suffering, suffering, uncertainty and needs of the inhabitants of Paiporta and the Valencia region,” Sánchez said. he said, adding that he believed the majority of people “rejected the types.” “Unfortunately, the violence we see today.”

The mud-slinging scene occurred as thousands of Spanish soldiers, national police officers and Civil Guard gendarmes arrived or were preparing to arrive in disaster areas.

Wilson reported from Valencia, Spain.