Timing of Spain flood alert under scrutiny as blame game rages

As Spain grapples with the fallout from the flash floods which struck on Tuesday, the blame game has already begun, with disaster relief services accused of being slow to react.

Much of the country has been badly hit by heavy rain and hailstorms, triggering rapid flooding in many areas which has already claimed at least 95 lives.

But the civil protection agency, which is deployed during natural disasters, did not issue an alert until 20:15 local time on Tuesday, when the flooding had already caused a great deal of damage.

"The magnitude of the tragedy raises doubts about whether the population was warned too late: Civil Protection sent out alerts when there were already flooded towns," read a headline on the website of El Mundo newspaper.

As the paper goes on to point out, "hundreds of people were trapped throughout the night from Tuesday to Wednesday in industrial estates and on roads because the roads were already cut off and access was cut off."

Recriminations have been flying on social media as people ask why local governments and politicians were not better prepared.