AUTHORITIES have sounded a major flood alert across Malaga province after torrential rain from Storm Leonardo drove seven rivers to dangerously high levels, with three already overflowing.
The Guadiaro and Guadalteba rivers are in the most critical situation and remain on ‘Red Alert’ for flood risk – the highest warning category under the region’s emergency system.
The sheer volume of water is threatening to isolate entire communities in the Serrania de Ronda and the Guadalhorce Valley.
Updated data from Hidrosur shows the Guadiaro has now reached a historic height of 4.72 metres – smashing the record set just last week.
This surge has already flooded rural areas of Ronda, specifically the hamlet of La Indiana, where residents are watching water creep dangerously close to their homes.
Downstream, the situation is critical for the villages of Benaojan, Jimera de Libar and Cortes de la Frontera, which all sit on the river’s edge.
In Casares, the village of El Secadero is once again in the firing line.
After being cut off last week when the river burst its banks, the 1,500 residents face renewed isolation as the Guadiaro hits these new record peaks.
Meanwhile, the Guadalteba riverbed has swollen to ‘three times its normal size’, according to local officials.
It has overflowed extensively along its course, forcing the evacuation of a family in the Huerta de la Cueva district of Teba as floodwaters breached their property.
The Mayor of Teba, however, issued a calm message, assuring that “we are not worried” just yet.
“Right now, we have the situation under control from a perspective of human life,” he said, though agricultural damage is expected to be severe.
Other rivers, the Genal and Grande, have been placed on ‘Orange Alert’.
This poses a significant threat to the ‘white villages’ of the Genal Valley, including Juzcar and Genalguacil, where low-lying river crossings are likely to be impassable.
The Rio Grande alert is of particular concern for Guaro and CoÃn, where the river feeds into the main Guadalhorce basin.
Closer to Malaga city, the Turon and Campanillas rivers are growing rapidly.
The Campanillas district – specifically the neighbourhoods around the Casasola dam – was saved “at the last centimetre” overnight, but emergency services remain on high alert as the water levels continue to fluctuate.
In the northern plains, towns such as Villanueva del Trabuco, Villanueva del Rosario and Bobadilla Estacion have reported flooding as waters from the upper Guadalhorce surge through the flat landscape.
Emergency responders remain on standby as forecasts suggest that wetter weather could persist in the region in the coming days.
Schools remain closed for the second day in the Ronda area and in key towns in the Guadalhorce Valley and on the Costa del Sol due to the extreme risk.
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