Almost 11,000 people evacuated in Andalucía: region calls on government to activate resources

The consequences of the unprecedented weather conditions currently affecting Andalucía are close to catastrophic.

In a scenario that is constantly changing, the region surpassed the figure of 10,000 people evacutaed fromtheir homes on Friday and is preparing for an even worse scenario as a result of the arrival this weekend of Storm Marta.

The Iberian peninsula is suffering from a meteorological phenomenon known as an "atmospheric river" and Andalucía is bearing the brunt with an accumulation of rainfall that has exceeded the capacity of its drainge system.

The excess water in a region that until very recently suffered one of the most severe droughts in its history has resulted in rivers overflowing, reservoirs exceeding their storage capacity and saturated underground aquifers that are causing instability of the terrain.

All this has resulted in the need to evacuate almost 11,000 people from their homes, the vast majority in the province of Cadiz, although all Andalusian provinces, with the sole exception of Almeria, are affected.

In addition to the 8,000 evicted in Cadiz, there are 1,500 in Cordoba, 600 in Jaen, 400 in Malaga and 350 in Granada. Seville and Huelva have smaller numbers, but the situation is so changeable that these numbers are constantly increasing, in some cases due to evacuations forced by the flooding of rivers and streams and in others due to the instability of the ground caused by the flow of underground water.

The situation could get worse this weekend. This was warned by the president of the Junta de Andalucía, Juanma Moreno, who said that the forecast is to maintain the emergency situation at level 2 until Wednesday, which will enable all the authorities to bring in resources for the emergency operation to support those provided by the Junta de Andalucía itself.

More rainfall

"We are enduring very heavy rains never seen before in our region. Saturday and Sunday will see abundant rainfall, and on Monday a new 'atmospheric river' is expected.

"It is raining on saturated land. The ground is unable to drain and the reservoirs are full. Therefore, we ask for great caution. It is not over yet. We still have some rain until Wednesday at least all over Andalucía. Let's be extremely cautious and not give in to the feeling that this is over, because there may be more dangerous situations and circumstances," said Moreno.

This new rain on land that is already unable to absorb more water may aggravate the situation, which will probably mean that more evacuations will have to be ordered. In Grazalema, a municipality which has been completely evacuated, an assessment of the geological situation will be carried out and it is possible that the safety perimeter will have to be extended.

For Moreno, the intensity of the rain that falls from Saturday onwards will be decisive, because if it is heavy, the situation will worsen.

"If on Monday we have rainfall in excess of 70, 80 or 90 millimetres in any of the affected areas, we would probably be talking about new evacuations and high-risk areas," he said. The current level two emergency will remain in force until at least Wednesday 11 February, although for Moreno it is a "red alert" situation throughout the territory.

In addition to the security emergency, there are also the economic consequences. The president of the regional government put the damage caused to the region's roads as a result of the storm at more than 500 million euros, which is why he asked the Spanish government to activate resources and to request funds from the European Union to deal with the damage.

The aim, according to Moreno, is that between all the administrations, the situation of the thousands of families affected can be alleviated and many of the problems in terms of "infrastructure deficit or severely or partially damaged infrastructures" can be resolved.

Moreno launched this request at the same time as Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez was in the Cadiz town of San Roque on his first visit to Andalucía since the beginning of this crisis.

Sánchez called for "calm and patience" from the affected citizens and warned that "long days" are ahead due to the next storm.

"All our empathy, all our solidarity and our request for understanding, which I know you have, and for patience, because the decisions taken by the civil protection services are to safeguard and ensure the lives of our fellow citizens," said the prime minister, who welcomed the high level of coordination and cooperation that is taking place between the different authorities, which he described as "extraordinary".

Referring to the situation as a climatic emergency, he assured that the state is already thinking about the "reconstruction and recovery" of the affected areas, although he made it clear that "very dangerous and delicate" adverse weather will continue in the coming days.