Spain on red alert due to heavy rains generated by the Leonardo storm

Published at: 05/02/2026 10:04 PM

The Leonardo storm has placed Andalusia under red alert due to torrential rains and floods, with extraordinary rainfall that has already caused roadblocks, evictions and interrupted services in several provinces, especially Cádiz and Malaga.

International media report that the State Meteorological Agency (AEMET) warns that the rains will continue with force, extending the warnings of extreme and cumulative risk that could be around or exceed 50-100 l/m² in many areas, while already saturated soils increase the danger of river overflows and floods.

During the day of this Wednesday, February 4, the authorities confirmed the death of three people in Morocco and one in Portugal, while in Spain the overflow of several rivers has generated new preventive evictions.

The most tragic incident in Moroccan territory , EFE reports, occurred in the province of Larache, specifically in the town of Beni Arous, where a landslide buried a house. The collapse of the building caused the death of two women and a minor, members of the same family who were unable to leave the structure in time due to the detachment of the hillside.

According to reports from local sources and regional media, the intense rainfall of recent weeks had weakened the terrain in this area of the northwest of the country.

Although two members of the family managed to be rescued alive by neighbors, they have injuries of varying severity and were transferred to health centers despite access difficulties due to road cuts.

Faced with the imminent risk of catastrophic floods, the Government of Morocco has coordinated the eviction of more than 108,000 people in the most vulnerable regions of the north. The Ministry of the Interior reported that the priority has focused on river basins that have critical levels due to the persistence of rains throughout the week.

The city of Alcazarquivir is currently the most critical point of the emergency, with an active deployment of the Army to assist the civilian population.

It is estimated that 85% of its inhabitants have left their homes, either through official operations or by their own means, in the face of the threat of overflow of nearby channels that cross the Atlantic plain.

In the Iberian Peninsula, the effects of the Leonardo storm have also been devastating, adding a fatal victim in Portugal and causing rivers to overflow in various regions of Spain.

The Spanish authorities have reinforced hydrological monitoring protocols, especially in those basins that have received unprecedented volumes of water in the last 48 hours.

Civil Protection teams in Spain have evicted houses located in riverside areas due to the uncontrolled increase in flows. Soil saturation and continued rainfall make drainage difficult, keeping various transport and communication infrastructures blocked in the most affected areas.

Mazo News Team