Catarroja: Thousands of students across Spain's eastern Valencia region resumed classes on Monday, two weeks after catastrophic floods claimed over 200 lives and devastated local towns. Public frustration remains high, with ongoing criticism of the regional government’s response. A teachers' union accused officials of overstating the number of students returning and leaving clean-up duties largely to teachers and students themselves.

Following the intense rainfall, rivers overflowed, sending waves of muddy water through crowded suburban areas, trapping people in cars and underground parking lots, and causing structural collapses. Twenty-three people remain missing in Valencia, where 47 schools reopened on Monday to welcome over 22,000 children in 14 affected towns, according to the region's education department. Last week, officials anticipated around 70% of students in the hardest-hit areas would return.

The education department emphasized that reopened schools had followed stringent cleaning and disinfection protocols to ensure student and staff safety. However, the STEPV teachers' union contested the reported attendance numbers and claimed that many schools were unprepared. Union spokesperson Marc Candela reported that teachers and parents were doing much of the cleaning with their own supplies, calling for professional cleaning crews like those deployed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ruben Pacheco, leader of the regional parents' association, FAMPA, voiced concerns about the children’s emotional well-being, stating, "Families are exhausted and psychologically strained, and no decisions should be made without consulting them to avoid adding to their stress."

Teachers received an online training course last week on psychological support, but the education department has not deployed additional counselors, Candela noted. At one school in Castellar-Oliveral, head teacher Carolina Marti said that they had received 60 students from nearby areas while five teachers were on medical leave. Access to the school remains challenging, with many roads still impassable.