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Spain's reigning monarch, King Felipe VI, has had mud thrown at his face during a tense tour of a town devastated by last week's flash floods.
At least 210 people were killed in the Valencia region alone, according to Spanish authorities, after torrential rain hit the area on Tuesday.
Locals in the affected region have been angered by the slow pace of the official response, with most of the clean-up being carried out by residents and thousands of volunteers.
Spain's King Felipe VI had mud and insults thrown at him as he toured the flood-affected Valencia town of Paiporta. (Reuters)
On Saturday, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez mobilised 10,000 troops, police officers and civil guards to Valencia to aid with the clean-up, describing it as Spain's biggest deployment in peacetime.
However, Mr Sanchez was also the target of abuse as he joined the king and his wife, Queen Letizia, in touring the flood-ravaged town of Paiporta.
Locals could be heard yelling "Get out! Get out!" and "Killers!" as the trio made their way through the town.
The royal couple cut short their visit to other flood-affected regions following the incident.
In addition to the pace of the response, residents have been angered by the lack of warning many of them received before floodwaters engulfed their homes.
One Australian expatriate told the ABC the rising waters were like a "tsunami", and she only received an alert from authorities over an hour after floods engulfed an apartment she had been taking shelter in.
Homes were left filled with thick mud after the floodwaters receded. (AP Photo: Manu Fernandez)
There were 20 arrests in the region on Saturday for looting and thievery, local police said, vowing a crackdown on further attempts by people to take advantage of the disaster.
Telephone and transport networks were severely damaged in the downpour, but Mr Sanchez said 94 per cent of homes had since had electricity restored.
The flooding on Tuesday was triggered by the DANA weather phenomenon, which climate scientists say is being exacerbated by the affects of climate change.
On Saturday, Spain's weather service issued a fresh warning for potential heavy rain over the Valencia region.
It advised residents in some parts of the country to avoid unnecessary travel.
AP/Reuters/AFP