The leader of Spain's Valencia region defended his handling of catastrophic floods that killed more than 200 people, saying on Friday he did everything possible in the face of a "monstrous avalanche of water that exceeded all weather forecasts".

Carlos Mazon, leader of Spain's Valencia region, faces criticism over his response to catastrophic floods that killed 200 people. Despite calls to resign, Mazon defends his actions, acknowledging failures and promising a public inquiry.

The Athletic reports from the Valencia region on the devastating impact that flooding has had on communities and football clubs

STORY: Dozens of Valencians gathered outside the regional assembly on Friday, demanding the resignation of regional leader Carlos Mazon over the handling of the deadly floods crisis.Mazon defied the calls for him to step down.

The head of the Spanish region devastated by the country's deadliest floods in decades admitted to "mistakes" and apologised on Friday but rebuffed calls for his resignation.

The floods wrecked infrastructure, gutted buildings and submerged fields. The final bill is expected to soar to tens of billions of euros