SPAIN is facing a critical week of weather as experts warn the country is ‘saturated’ and unable to absorb the deluge of water heading its way.
Meteorologists have described the ground across the Iberian Peninsula as being ‘full like a sponge’ following weeks of relentless storms.
Now, a new ‘atmospheric river’ – a massive band of concentrated moisture stretching from the Caribbean – is dumping fresh rainfall on top of the sodden earth.
The result is an ‘extreme’ risk of flooding, with water having nowhere to go but over the surface.
The most alarming forecasts are centred on the northwest of the peninsula, including Galicia and parts of Portugal.
Weather experts have warned that up to 500mm of additional rain could fall in these areas between now and mid-February.
This sheer volume of water on top of already waterlogged soil has triggered warnings of ‘severe’ flash flooding.
However, the danger will rapidly spread south to Andalucia, where the situation is becoming increasingly precarious.
While the totals may be lower than the north, the impact could be just as devastating due to the saturated ground.
Inland Malaga, particularly the Serrania de Ronda, and the Campo de Gibraltar in Cadiz are bracing for 100mm to 200mm of rain in the coming days.
The Costa del Sol is also under close surveillance, with warnings that dry riverbeds could transform into raging torrents in minutes.
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Dramatic maps released by the Global Flood Awareness System (GloFAS) show large swathes of these regions painted in purple – the colour denoting the highest possible risk level.
According to meteorologists, these purple lines indicate a ‘very high or extreme risk’ where river banks are highly likely to burst.
The purple ‘extreme risk’ zone encompasses vast stretches of the region, including the popular expat hubs of the Serrania de Ronda, the Campo de Gibraltar, and the historic Guadalquivir valley cities of Sevilla and Cordoba.
Also included are the inland strongholds of Ronda and Antequera, and the riverside towns of Arcos de la Frontera, Ecija, and Andujar, plus the sherry triangle hubs of Jerez de la Frontera and Sanlucar de Barrameda, and stretching west to the border town of Ayamonte.
Beyond the coast, the wider Andalucia region is facing a complex hydrological crisis.
The warning covers significant portions of the Guadalquivir basin, where managing the rivers has become a minute-by-minute ‘engineering battle’.
While reservoirs usually act as a defence against flooding, many are now nearing capacity.
Hydrology experts explain that dams typically keep an empty ‘safety buffer’ to catch floodwaters.
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But with levels so high, technicians may be forced to open spillways to protect the dam structures, potentially releasing more water into riverbeds that are already swollen.
The Guadalquivir system alone has over 60 reservoirs being managed to prevent disaster.
Civil Protection authorities are urging residents in the ‘purple’ and ‘red’ zones to exercise extreme caution.
The advice is simple: stay away from riverbanks, avoid low-lying areas, and never attempt to drive through floodwater.
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