Grazalema emergency evacuation: Residents relocated to Ronda amid Storm Leonardo rainfall
President of Andalucía Juanma Moreno orders a 'preventive and orderly' evacuation of the Cadiz municipality due to unprecedented rainfall and soil saturation
The president of the Junta de Andalucía, Juanma Moreno, has announced the preventive, staggered, and orderly evacuation of the entire municipality of Grazalema.
This urgent measure affects more than 1,600 residents in the Cadiz town, which has become the epicentre of unprecedented rainfall caused by Storm Leonardo.
The decision was made following technical warnings regarding the saturation of the local aquifer. With the terrain unable to absorb further rainfall, officials fear significant ground instability and landslides that could jeopardise residential structures.
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Moreno described the evacuation as a sensible and timely action based on strict technical criteria, appealing to the public for calm as the process unfolded.
The Guardia Civil and the Military Emergency Unit (UME) led the operation, moving through the village house by house. The evacuation is compulsory, and no residents are permitted to remain within the municipal boundaries.
All displaced people are being redirected to the neighbouring town of Ronda, where the local government has prepared a municipal sports centre to serve as a primary emergency shelter.
In addition to the efforts in Grazalema, authorities have confirmed that evacuations are also being carried out in specific sectors of Ubrique. Furthermore, the eviction of the Doña Blanca area in El Puerto de Santa María was scheduled to begin late this afternoon as the regional emergency response intensified.
