Recently, multiple areas in Spain and Portugal have experienced extreme weather conditions such as heavy rainfall and flooding due to the impact of the severe storm “Leonardo”. Search and rescue teams in Spain continued to look for a woman who went missing after falling into a river during the heavy rain on Thursday (February 5), while Portugal issued the highest level flood alert and declared 68 towns in a state of disaster.
The storm “Leonardo” swept through large areas of Spain and Portugal starting on Wednesday (February 4), bringing torrential rains to many areas, marking the seventh strong storm to hit the Iberian Peninsula this year.
On that day, parts of southern Andalusia in Spain saw over 40 centimeters of rainfall, equivalent to several months’ worth of rain. The extreme weather led to the emergency evacuation of approximately 4,000 people in the region.
Officials in Andalusia stated that 14 rivers and 10 dams in the area are now in a state of “extreme danger”. Additionally, the heavy rain caused the closure of over 30 roads and the suspension of operations on multiple railway lines in the region.
In Portugal, the storm “Leonardo” triggered floods, landslides, power outages, and transportation disruptions in several parts of the country, with the central and northern regions, including the capital Lisbon, being the hardest hit. Local authorities reported that a man in his 70s in the rural area of Alentejo in central-southern Portugal lost his life after his car was swept away by floodwaters.
On Thursday, Portuguese authorities issued the highest flood alert for the Tagus River in the Santarem region and evacuated residents along the riverbanks. Civil defense units described this as the most serious flood threat the Tagus River has faced in nearly 30 years.
In the southern town of Alcácer do Sal, near Lisbon, severe flooding occurred due to the breach of river embankments, with water levels reaching up to 2 meters in some areas. Firefighters deployed rubber boats to rescue nearly 90 residents trapped by the floodwaters.
However, meteorological departments in both countries have warned that there is still more rainfall expected in the region in the coming days.