The situation in the Spanish region of Andalusia is becoming more complicated. Rivers are overflowing, authorities are releasing dams in a controlled manner, and the number of evacuees has reached 7,000 people.
The most dangerous situation is in Grazalema, a municipality in the province of Cadiz, where all of its nearly 2,000 residents have been evacuated.
More rain fell in the town in 16 hours than in the entire region of Madrid in a year. Rivers in the area are overflowing, and dams are exceeding their limits.
Andalusia's regional prime minister, Juan Manuel Moreno, commented that if it continues to rain, more water will accumulate in the reservoirs than can be released in a controlled manner. Authorities in the region are pumping water from three large facilities that have reached 100% capacity.
The mayor of Arcos de la Frontera, Miguel Rodríguez, has urged residents to be extremely cautious after the gates of a nearby dam were opened, releasing 700 cubic meters of water per second. Firefighters there rescued six people from two houses who were caught off guard by the rising water level in the facility.
Nearly a thousand people have been evacuated in Extremadura, where four rivers are rising. More than 30 road sections have been closed in the region due to flooding.
Cordoba airport has closed due to the threat of flooding. Water could inundate both access roads and the interior of facilities. The airport will not operate until maximum safety for passengers and crews is ensured.
More than 200 people have been evacuated in the province of Malaga, with authorities announcing their readiness to evacuate more people from their homes.
The high-speed train journey between Madrid and Barcelona will take 25 minutes longer until mid-December.
The reason is a request from the company that manages the railway infrastructure for a lower speed and more time for track inspections.
The increase in travel time between the two largest cities in Spain came after a serious accident on January 18, in which 46 people died. Then a high-speed train of the private company "Irio" derailed and collided with a train of the state operator "Renfe", moving in the opposite direction. Two days later, a train driver died in another accident in Catalonia.
The growing number of reports of problems with the tracks has forced the state-owned company that manages the railway infrastructure to introduce temporary speed limits and increase the number of checks.
By adding 25 minutes to their target arrival times, the three companies that offer high-speed train travel are seeking to achieve the dual effect of responding to demands for safety guarantees from train drivers and stabilizing service provision.
In parallel, the rail infrastructure company has asked the same operators to stop running trains early in the morning and late in the evening to allow more time for maintenance on the lines.