GRAZALEMA, Spain, Feb 6 (Reuters) – Authorities in southern Spain evacuated several residential areas on Friday after Storm Leonardo caused rivers to swell dramatically and aquifers to burst, raising fears of floods and landslides across the region.
In Andalusia, more than 7,000 residents have been forced to leave their homes amid what meteorologists said was a “storm train,” which is a series of consecutive storms that have battered Spain and Portugal over the past weeks with heavy rain and strong winds. The state weather agency AEMET warned that Storm Marta is expected to arrive on Saturday which will bring further intense rainfall.
Evacuations were ordered along the Guadalquivir riverbed in Cordoba province where water levels surged overnight threatening homes and infrastructure. Authorities also relocated roughly 1,500 residents of Grazalema which is a small mountain village popular with hikers after the rainwater began seeping into houses and flowing down steep.
Residents described anxious nights as they waited for evacuation with Maria Fernandez telling state broadcaster TVE from a shelter in Ronda, about 30 km away, that she and her neighbors “couldn’t sleep because we’re so stressed and anxious.”
Andalusia’s regional leader Juan Manuel Moreno, said aquifers in the Grazalema mountains were at full capacity which increases the risk of landslides. Geologists are assessing the situation to determine when residents can safely return to their homes. “It’s possible these cavities will widen and eventually cause the ground to sink affecting any house or road above,” said Nahum Mendez-Chazarra a professor of geology at Valencia University.
In Porto the Douro River overflowed in the early hours which caused minor flooding at riverside cafés. Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro extended a state of calamity in 69 municipalities until mid-February citing unprecedented rainfall and heightened flood risks. Mario Silvestre commander of Portugal’s civil protection service ANEPC, said six rivers including the Tagus are at risk of significant flooding, and the Tagus basin under red alert due to rapidly rising waters.