This is the 5638th most frequent Spanish word.
provocaron
"Provocaron" means "they caused" or "they provoked."
In this sentence, 'provocaron' is used in the sense of 'caused' as a verb implying an action led to an effect, specifically indicating the strong rains caused the floods.
Las fuertes lluvias provocaron inundaciones en toda la ciudad.
The heavy rains caused floods throughout the city.
Here, 'provocaron' suggests triggering or initiating an unintentional reaction, where the comments were the cause of misunderstandings.
Los comentarios imprudentes provocaron malentendidos entre los compañeros.
The imprudent comments provoked misunderstandings among the colleagues.
In this context, 'provocaron' is conveying the initiation of a reaction (protests) stemming from decisions made by the board.