Spain emergency: more than 3,000 people evacuated from flood-prone areas in Malaga, Cadiz and Jaén

The emergency committee of Andalucía ordered the evacuation of more than 3,000 people in the provinces of Malaga, Cadiz and Jaén in light of the risk of floods on Wednesday.

Until the danger passes, some are staying at the houses of friends and relatives, while others are taking shelter in hotels and big centres prepared for the preventive measure.

In Malaga province, evacuation in the Ronda area took place at 6pm. The people living in flood-prone areas moved to a hotel in the industrial area. While no new measures have been necessary, the evacuation of more people from other areas, especially those that could be affected by the rise of reservoir and river levels, has not been ruled out.

In Cadiz province, evacuations took place in: the rural areas of Jerez de la Frontera; the La Barca and Guadalcacín areas; the rural settlement of Las Pachecas; the town of San Roque; Los Barrios; Setenil de las Bodegas; Torre Alháquime; Benaocaz; and Algeciras.

The port authority of Andalucía decided to close all ports under its supervision, which includes facilities in the province of Cadiz and in the Strait of Gibraltar. The following vessels are banned from leaving: passenger service catamarans operating in the Bay of Cadiz; ships and leisure craft; port service vessels other than pilotage, towage, harbour services and mooring boats; dredgers, hopper barges, vessels supporting divers and any other craft carrying out activities within port service areas. Fishing vessels and any ships or boats entering or leaving without a pilot on board are also subject to departure restrictions.

The measure does not apply to vessels carrying a harbour pilot, provided the ship is fully operational in terms of propulsion, steering, manoeuvring, anchoring and navigation aids. In such cases, the captain and the pilot will jointly decide whether the manoeuvre is feasible, depending on the prevailing conditions at the time.

The above restrictions will also not apply in cases of emergency or necessity.

In Jaén province, evacuation took place in the area of Los Puentes. Some 200 residents are staying with family and friends. The Red Cross has set up shelters for others who might need them.

The Andalusian emergency agency (Ema) is urging people to follow self-protection guidelines during the passage of storm Leonardo.

The weather phenomenon has merged with an 'atmospheric river', which will bring intense and persistent rainfall across Andalucía this week.

The following facilities remain closed on Wednesday: the Sierra Nevada ski resort; ITV vehicle inspection points in Ronda, Algeciras and Villamartín; the Acinipo Roman site (Ronda); the Los Toruños and La Algaida parks in Puerto Real (Cadiz).

Tuesday passed without serious incidents, but a total of 136 minor ones were recorded throughout the day. People mostly reported falling branches, trees, street furniture, buildings, billboards, signage, landslides and damage to secondary roads.

Since the latest succession of storms began on 27 January, the emergency services have handled a total of 5,216 incidents, of which 1,043 in Seville, 1,024 in Cadiz, 868 in Jaén, 687 in Granada, 507 in Malaga, 448 in Almeria, 426 in Cordoba and 213 in Huelva.