Costa del Sol weather: residents evacuated in Secadero and San Martín del Tesorillo go home
Storm Marta has caused the Guadiaro and one of its tributaries to swell and around 180 people were evacuated from the two villages as a precaution
The 180 residents evacuated from Secadero in Casares Costa and San Martín del Tesorillo in Cadiz province were able to return to their homes on Sunday.
The situation grew complicated again on Saturday in Secadero, the village of Casares with 1,500 inhabitants that was first cut off by Storm Leonardo last week due to the overflowing of the Guadiaro.
This Saturday around 100 residents were evacuated as a precaution, while others were being told to be ready. There were points with no mobile coverage and the electricity supply has been cut off for some time.
These are the consequences of Storm Marta, which left heavy rainfall in the Serranía de Ronda, where the Guadiaro has its source, and in the rest of the basin.
For this reason, the delegate of the Andalusian government in Malaga, Patricia Navarro, said on Saturday that "the area could be cut off again today".
If this happened, the consequences would not be the same as with Storm Leonardo, because by then there was already an operation deployed in the area, both in the town of Casares and in the neighbouring San Martín del Tesorillo in Cadiz province.
There are members of Spain's military emergency unit (UME), firefighters from the provincial brigade, 061 personnel, civil guards and civil protection volunteers.
In Secadero there is even a field hospital, a machine capable of generating drinking water from environmental humidity, a helicopter for evacuations, rescue boats, and a school for evacuees, as well as food and basic necessities, which is why Navarro wanted to send out a message of "calm".
"We have to have emergency operations in the villages if they are isolated for anything that may arise," she explained.
On Saturday the river in San Pablo de Buceite (Cadiz) was registering a flow of 635.92 cubic metres per second after having experienced a rise of almost 100 in just one hour (between 2pm and 3pm), according to data from the Hidrosur network.
The river was at an amber risk level and growing, and the Hozgarganta, one of its tributaries, was also registering a rise in its flow, while another, the Genal, was more stable.
One hundred people evicted
Casares town hall had been carrying out "preventive work with the population", contacting directly with residents who are in a "situation of greater vulnerability", around 25 families, to inform them and "recommend that they have a bag of clothes, documentation and medication ready in their homes, in case an evacuation is necessary".
The town hall spoke to the families living in the areas where the water reached their homes in the previous flooding of the Guadiaro, mainly in Calle Gaucín and in the Hondacavada area. In the area of Camino del Papudo some families have already left their homes following the indications of the municipal services.
The school in the town centre, CEIP Los Almendros, has been prepared to receive evacuees, and others due to arrive from San Martín del Tesorillo. Most of the evacuated households went to stay with relatives. In addition, one person was evacuated to the hospital in La Línea de la Concepción due to respiratory problems.
Secadero was without electricity supply for approximately one hour on Saturday, until just before 2.30pm. The area had been without power for 17 hours (from 10.30pm on Wednesday to 3.30pm on Thursday) and to recover the service Endesa had to reconfigure the electricity network from the control centre in Seville, carrying out the operation from Manilva.
