DOZENS of Brits and other European expats are believed to be among 200 people urgently evacuated from a Malaga beauty spot this afternoon.
Emergency services ordered the total evacuation of the Estacion de Benaojan neighbourhood shortly after 4pm on Friday due to fears that a dam in the mountains above could burst its banks.
Terrified locals have reported feeling the ground ‘tremble’ and hearing loud ‘roaring’ noises coming from beneath their homes, as the sheer pressure of the water forces its way through the underground limestone caves.
The danger centres on the Montejaque Dam – known locally as the Presa de los Caballeros – a structure that has been dry for nearly a century.
Built in the 1920s on porous rock, the dam was deemed a massive engineering failure because it could never hold water, which always leaked away through the massive Hundidero-Gato cave system.
However, the torrential rains from Storm Leonardo have completely saturated the caves, causing the ‘ghost dam’ to fill to its limit for the first time in history.
Engineers warn that the water is now lapping at the spillways and the pressure on the mountain itself is critical.
The Estacion de Benaojan district, which sits directly in the path of the river valley below, is a popular hub for international tourism.
It is home to the renowned Molino del Santo hotel, a favourite among British travellers and hikers, which sits just metres from the riverbank.
Given the timing of the evacuation on a Friday afternoon, it is feared that many tourists arriving for weekend breaks have been caught up in the chaos.
The mayor of Benaojan announced the decision on social media, stating that the evacuation was necessary “due to the weather conditions and the risk of the Montejaque dam overflowing”.
Police and Guardia Civil officers moved door-to-door, telling residents they had to leave immediately.
“The Civil Protection officers arrived and told us we had to leave our houses, that the hillside was giving way,” said Francisco Parra, one of the affected residents.
Most of the 200 evacuees have sought shelter with family and friends in the main village, which sits higher up the mountain and is considered safe.
However, a group of eight people has been transferred to a municipal sports pavilion in nearby Ronda, which had already been set up to house evacuees from Grazalema.
Geologists have been rushed to the area to assess the stability of the Sierra de Libar, as the ‘tremors’ reported by neighbours suggest the water is violently forcing air and liquid through the subterranean galleries.
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