Carlos Mazón, president of Valencia, has apologised for his government’s inadequate response to the flash floods that devastated the region after it emerged he had a three-hour lunch with a journalist on the day of the disaster.

Spain's under-fire regional leader Carlos Mazón defies calls for his resignation after last month's deadly floods.

The Spanish regional leader facing immense pressure for his handling of the catastrophic Valencia floods last month defied calls to step down Friday, but conceded that authorities made mistakes in their response to the disaster.

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".

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