Andalusia awaits the second impact of the succession of storms that shake it with fear in its body due to the effects of the first, with 11,000 evacuees (including an entire town) and a body located in Sayalonga (Málaga) very close to where a woman fell into the river last Wednesday. The train of storms has barely given a day’s respite: while Leonardo is leaving, Marta arrives. For now it is assumed to be somewhat less powerful, but paradoxically with a greater potential for damage, because it touches land where there is no more room for water. There is the amazingly graphic example from Grazalema (Cádiz)where the underground aquifer springs up in the middle of the houses and could even move the earth, which has motivated an express eviction that does not know when it will end.
So far there are 11,000 evicted people throughout the community, as reported by the counselor responsible for Emergencies, Antonio Sanz, who has chaired the meeting of the advisory committee of the Emergency Plan. The new storm is expected to arrive this Saturday, before a new “atmospheric river” enters on Monday.
The Andalusian Emergency Agency (112, Plan Infoca, Civil Protection and GREA) is now working in eleven simultaneous scenarios to mitigate the effects of storms: Córdoba, El Palmar de Troya (Seville), Grazalema, Guadalete, San Roque and Villaluenga del Rosario (Cádiz), Benaoján, Ronda and El Secadero (Málaga), Cubillas and Quentar (Granada). In addition, a technical committee has been created that works in parallel with the advisory committee of the Emergency Plan (CECOPI) to analyze the evolution of the channels and subsoils, with experts in hydrogeology and earthworks.
It is about evacuating as quickly as possible everything accumulated during the week to make room for what is to come. Juan Manuel Moreno, president of the Junta de Andalucía, warned this Friday: the reservoirs of Seville, Cádiz, Huelva or western Málaga are bordering on full, which forces locks to be opened to guarantee the safety reserve. The water released will “flood, hit and hurt.” If the rains are moderate, they will cause damage in some places. But if they are intense it would be “tremendously worrying.” Moreno looked beyond the weekend: “If we had rain above 70, 80 or 90 liters per square meter in any of the affected areas, we would probably be talking about new evacuations and high-risk areas.”
During this Friday the dams have been opened to discharge water before the rains once again increase the flow of rivers and streams from the runoff that no longer soaks the earth. Those from Cádiz are at 85%, and those from Málaga are close to 82%, after gaining 16 percentage points in just one week. Iznájar, in Córdoba, has doubled its reserves: It was at 20% and is now almost half its capacity, after collecting the enormous amounts of rain in the province of Granada. Of particular concern are the Cadiz reservoirs of Bornos and Arcos, which release their waters into the Guadalete, the river whose overflow is already has forced the eviction of several neighborhoods in Jerez.
The rivers are also of concern, particularly the Genil and the Guadalquivir, which as they pass through Córdoba flow with a flow of around 2,000 cubic meters per second, still with a certain margin compared to the 2,500 that caused the 2010 flood. The Guadalquivir Hydrographic Confederation (CHG) has warned that the hydrological situation in Córdoba could be complicated with the arrival of the new front of rains. “The bad is yet to come”said the organization’s chief engineer, Pedro Escribano. It is expected that in the next few hours the level of the Guadalquivir passing through the capital will be maintained, but problems could arise from Sunday, when AEMET forecasts accumulations of between 40 and 60 liters per square meter.
The situation in Grazalema and Jerez
For now, Leonardo’s passage leaves 8,600 evacuees and a missing woman in Sayalonga (Málaga). this friday A body was found one kilometer from the point where the river swept her away.. The Government Subdelegation has not yet confirmed that it is the missing woman, but Moreno has already taken it for granted.
This Friday, the President of the Government Pedro Sánchez visited the most affected areas. In San Roque he was received by the Emergency Minister, Antonio Sanz. So far, 9,241 incidents have been recorded since the “swarm of storms” began on January 27.
The most particular situation occurs in Grazalema, where geologists from the Disaster and Emergency Advisory Group belonging to the Geographic and Mining Institute (IGME-CSIC) evaluate the state of the subsoil aquifer. It is a karst terrain of about 18 square kilometers that is conducive to water infiltration. The water fills the gaps, until the fierce rain of these days has ended up filling everything. It is not easy for that to happen: Grazalema is the rainiest municipality in Spain, but what has rained this year is hardly unprecedented: about 2,000 liters per square meter, 800 of them concentrated in the last few days.
The dissolution of the walls or the increase in porosity of the aquifer can cause collapse or collapsedepending on its proximity to the surface, and geologists are now studying how to facilitate decompression inside the aquifer. Meanwhile, and given the risk that what is happening inside the massif will move the surface causing landslides or collapses, the neighbors have been relocated to relatives’ homes or to a pavilion set up in Ronda (Málaga). Moreno announced that expanding the evacuation perimeter is being studied, and that the return will not be soon. At least “a few days” will pass.
Furthermore, technicians are studying the similar situation in Cortés de la Frontera and Benaoján (in Málaga), although the subdelegate has ruled out a general risk in the municipality. In Benaoján the rise in the water table drains the earth and floods the houses in the upper part of the town, which has forced the eviction of around twenty people. The Station district has also been evacuated. In total, about 200 people from this municipality have been relocated. “Extreme surveillance” is also being carried out on the nearby Montejaque dam, which is old and has been under great pressure in recent hours.
The mayor of Jerez de la Frontera (Cádiz), María José García-Pelayo, reported this Friday afternoon on the preventive action protocol for possible flooding in the urban area of the city due to the fact that the collectors “are already saturated with water” and the flooding situation of the Guadalete River. This Saturday, a new episode of “intense” rain is expected in the city.
Isolated towns, economic and infrastructure damage
The storm has hit practically all the Andalusian provinces. Huétor Tájar (Granada) has been turned into an island, surrounded by water, in recent days, just like Secadero (Málaga), more than 200 kilometers away. Their neighbors had been incommunicado for more than 30 hours when the firefighters managed to open a passage this Friday at noon.
Also this Friday, members of the Civil Guard managed to reach the district of Aguas Blancas, in Dúdar, in the region of Vega de Granada, where 120 people who had been given access to a road with off-road vehicles remained isolated, confirming that the road is safe and practicable for this type of car. In any case, extreme caution is recommended.
The economic impact of the storm is also notable. This Friday, Moreno estimated the damage that has occurred so far on autonomously owned roads at more than 500 million and has announced that he will request European funds to alleviate the considerable losses at all levels in the community. The Andalusian president has also referred to the damage to buildings, agriculture, tourism or the industrial sector.
