ANDALUCIA is bracing for a fresh week of weather chaos as a new ‘atmospheric river’ sweeps in from the Atlantic, threatening submerged areas as they make their recovery.
The saturated ground, already unable to absorb a single drop more after storms ‘Leonardo’ and ‘Marta’, faces a new deluge that begins today and will peak between Tuesday and Wednesday.
Authorities have issued a stark warning that even moderate rainfall could now trigger flash floods and landslides because the soil is ‘completely full’.
It will hammer the west, centre, and south of the Peninsula, with accumulated rainfall potentially exceeding 100mm in Grazalema by Tuesday night.
The news of further rainfall in the Cadiz mountain town will surely come as a bitter blow to the 555 residents of Grazalema and Estacion de Benaojan who are still sleeping in shelters in Ronda, unable to return to their homes.
There are genuine fears that the fully-saturated earth and rock on which Grazalema is built might erode and slip away due to the subterranean pressures.
The Junta has described the devastation in these areas as a ‘brutality’, with infrastructure in the town notably ‘devastated’.
Meanwhile, the state weather agency AEMET has activated a yellow alert for the Ronda area, predicting up to 60mm in 12 hours.
While rainfall totals may not reach the extreme highs of previous weeks, the impact could be just as severe due to the state of the terrain.
Meteorologists explain that this ‘atmospheric river’ is a long, narrow corridor transporting heavy moisture from the Caribbean across the Atlantic, directed by the Azores anticyclone.
The chaos is also wreaking havoc on transport links vital to the expatriate community.
Renfe has confirmed that the high-speed AVE line between Malaga and Madrid will not reopen until March at the earliest.
Repairs to the tracks, damaged after the tragic accident in Adamuz, have been repeatedly stalled by the relentless bad weather.
Road closures remain widespread across Malaga province, with the A-366 (Guaro), A-7286 (Campillos), A-2300 (Ronda-Montecorto), A-7202 (Campillos), A-373 (Cortes de la Frontera), and A-7156 (Casares) all totally cut off.
While schools in Ronda have largely reopened, classrooms in Benaoján and Cartajima remain shut.
The bad weather is not limited to the south.
As the front moves across the country, the Mediterranean coast will face severe winds on Wednesday.
Gusts could exceed 80km/h in Valencia and 70km/h in Alicante and Almeria, where wind will be the main danger rather than rain.
Click here to read more Spain News from The Olive Press.
