RESIDENTS of Grazalema have started returning to their homes today after the entire town was evacuated over landslide risks.
According to figure from local authorities, 83% of Grazalema homes have been deemed safe to return to.
The return will be carried out in an ‘orderly and gradual’ manner, says Antonio Sanz, the director of Andalucia’s flood risk plan.
Yesterday Andalucia’s president, Juanma Moreno, visited Ronda’s El Fuerte sports centre, where 500 Grazalema residents were sheltering, to announce the return.
Officials determined which parts of the town are safe to return to based on the advice of geological experts from Spanish National Research Council (CSIC).
Moreno explained that experts measured ‘the level of risk the town could face in terms of subsidence, landslides, and, in short, any circumstance that could pose a danger to families.’
They determined that most of Grazalema’s homes are safe to return to, although 277 are still being closely monitored by experts.
Moreno told locals this is ‘a glimmer of hope that we can put an end to this situation.’
The Junta also confirmed that Grazalema children will attend schools in Ronda until their own schools reopen.
The evacuation followed Storm Leonardo, which dumped 600mm of rain on the Cadiz town in just 24 hours.
Around 2,000 people were forced to leave, with many fleeing to nearby Ronda, where over 500 took shelter at the sports centre.
Shocking images showed water seeping through walls and pouring from electrical outlets.
Experts warned that the limestone aquifer beneath the village was so saturated it could turn the soil into liquid, putting buildings at risk of collapse and prompting the evacuation.
Meanwhile, similar evacuation protocols are ending in Benaojan where 200 residents were evacuated ahead of the Montejaque dam overflow.
They will also begin returning to their homes today.
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