Spain flood disaster 'talent' controversy..."I'm going to send you an urgent message after I lock my throat".

[Anchor]
With more than 200 deaths in Spain, the worst flood-hit country, there has been growing criticism of the authorities' poor handling.

In particular, emergency disaster texts were sent in 12 hours, and some residents said they received texts with water up to their throats.

I'm a YouTube reporter on the report.

[Reporter]
Eastern Spain, where the worst floods swept away, remains devastated.

We have not yet been able to accurately determine the size of the missing people.

The death toll, which has already exceeded 200, is likely to rise further.

[Spain Firefighter] There are many difficulties. In particular, there are many vehicles and they are severely crushed....]

Climate change is cited as the cause of extreme downpours, which have received a year's worth of precipitation in just eight hours.

At the same time, criticism is mounting that poor disaster response has increased human casualties.

The Spanish Meteorological Agency issued the highest level of heavy rain warning at 7 a.m. on the 29th of last month,

However, it has been confirmed that the first emergency disaster text message was sent to residents after 12 hours.

One resident testified that he received a text message with his neck submerged.

[Hannah Cloke, professor at the University of Reading, UK] When you get a warning on your phone, you've already got water in your throat, which means there's a serious problem with your alarm system.]

Even the first text sent was reported to contain only "don't move" without specific evacuation guidelines.

Some point out that due to rapid urbanization, the drainage facility was not sufficiently equipped.

Conscious of this criticism, the Spanish government also hinted at the possibility of an investigation.

[Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez: There will be time to analyze negligence and reflect on how to improve the allocation of government capacity (in extreme disaster situations).]

Climate experts warn that extreme weather events are becoming increasingly frequent, forcing existing disaster preparedness systems to face limitations.

It's YTN YouTube.