The Andalusian Regional Government has activated level 2 emergency, also involving the UME (Military Emergency Unit), and has suspended classes from this Wednesday in educational centers in the region, except for Almería, due to the severe storm caused by storm Leonardo. In fact, Grazalema, Ronda, Campo de Gibraltar, and Jaén will receive Es-Alert messages starting this afternoon.
Following the meeting of the Advisory Committee of the Andalusia Emergency Plan, the president of the Regional Government, Juanma Moreno, announced the suspension of teaching activities, which will apply to schools, extracurricular activities, and Andalusian universities.
He stressed that this is an “exceptional situation” in which “areas that have been flooded in the last 50 years may be flooded again in the coming days.” He also insisted that “a significant mass of very humid air, unlike anything ever seen before” will arrive in Andalusia.
Immediate measures
In light of this information, the regional government raised the emergency response level to 2, which would allow “the UME (Military Emergency Unit) to be pre-positioned to control mining ponds in Huelva and Seville” and to intervene immediately and carry out “possible water rescues together with the Civil Guard.”
The storm is expected to arrive on Tuesday at 9:00 p.m. in Huelva and to dump 120 liters per square meter in the first 12 hours and more than 200 liters in 24 hours.
Storm Leonardo will intensify on Wednesday and Thursday, although after a respite on Friday, it will return on Saturday and Sunday. Moreno urged the population to avoid unnecessary travel.
As a preventive measure, the Guadalquivir River Basin Authority has already begun releasing water from 50 reservoirs to prevent overflowing in the face of the massive arrival of new water flows.
According to the State Meteorological Agency (Aemet), this “will be significantly rainier than normal.” Juan de Dios del Pino, regional representative of the Aemet, pointed out that this is a “day of transition” towards the new storm, which “will bring a mass of very humid and warm subtropical air across the Atlantic.”