Calls to postpone presidential election as Storm Leonardo lashes Portugal and Spain | Extreme weather
Heavy rain and strong winds continued to lash parts of Spain and Portugal on Friday, causing at least one death, forcing the evacuation of more than 7,000 people and sparking calls for the postponement of the second round of Portugal’s presidential election.
Storm Leonardo, which hit the Iberian Peninsula this week, led the Portuguese government to extend the current state of calamity in 69 municipalities until mid-February.
The storm killed a man in Portugal, while a young girl is missing in Andalusia, southern Spain. It is the latest in a series of deadly storms that have hit Portugal and Spain in recent weeks, killing several people.
Authorities in Andalusia, where more than 7,000 people were forced to leave their homes, evacuated residential areas near the Guadalquivir River in Cordoba overnight due to dramatically rising water levels.
About 1,500 residents were ordered to leave their homes in Grazalema, a mountain village popular with hikers, as water seeped through the walls of homes and cascaded down steep cobblestone streets.
Andalusia regional president Juan Manuel Moreno told Cadena Ser radio that aquifers in the Grazalema mountains were full and could cause landslides due to pent-up pressure. “This could cause large holes or ditches. If this happens under a house or street, the result could be dramatic,” Moreno said.
He added that geologists were assessing the situation in Grazalema to determine when residents could return home.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez was due to visit the hardest-hit regions of Andalusia on Friday.
Heavy rains also affect the olive harvest. Francisco Elvira, who heads the Coag farmers’ association in Jaén province, estimates losses so far at €200m (£174m).
Spain’s national meteorological office, Aemet, on Friday issued orange weather alerts for coastal areas in the northwestern region of Galicia and yellow alerts for other parts of the northern coast, as well as for coastal areas in the south and east, as well as the Balearic Islands.
Rubén del Campo, a spokesman for Aemet, said even heavier rains would fall on Saturday. “After a slight lull on Friday, Storm Marta will arrive, bringing heavy rain and very strong winds on Saturday to areas that have already been very affected by the heavy rains of recent days,” he said.
“Once Storm Marta moves away on Sunday, other weather fronts will arrive, bringing less intense, but still significant, precipitation to most parts of the peninsula, except the Mediterranean areas.”
In Porto, Portugal’s second largest city, the Douro River overflowed early Friday, causing minor flooding at riverside cafe terraces. In the south of the country, large parts of the town of Alcácer do Sal, on the banks of the Sado River, remained half-submerged for a third day.
Commander of Portugal’s ANEPC Civil Protection Service, Mario Silvestre, said six rivers, including the Tagus, were at risk of significant flooding, adding that Portugal was facing the worst flood threat along the Tagus in almost three decades.
The damage and uncertainty caused by the storm led to calls for the postponement of Sunday’s presidential election runoff.
André Ventura, leader of the far-right Chega party, said the vote should be delayed for a week because the vote is “a question of equality among all Portuguese people.”
But the national electoral authority said the vote would go ahead as planned. “A state of emergency, weather warnings or generally unfavorable situations do not in themselves constitute a sufficient reason to postpone voting in a city or region,” the text specifies.
Scientists say human-caused climate breakdown is increasing the duration, intensity and frequency of extreme weather events such as floods and heatwaves that have hit both countries in recent years.
Reuters, Associated Press and Agence France-Presse contributed to this report
