They came by bus, by tractor or on foot. They waded through mud hoping to help clean up neighborhoods washed away by floodwaters that have killed at least 214 people. Thousands of Spanish citizens made their way to flood-ravaged Valencia over the weekend after the country’s worst natural disaster in recent history left the nation shocked by images of overturned cars and brick homes torn apart by furious water.

The images from Valencia are a punch in the stomach. In these hours, people are digging through the mud that has covered the hearts of millions of Spaniards. Today was also the journey of King