A devastating force': how recent Mediterranean storms turned to tragedies

"In Grazalema, Spain's wettest town, a year's-worth of rain fell in a fortnight and overloaded the karst aquifer beneath it. Water rushed into homes through floors, walls and even electricity sockets. Authorities ordered everyone to evacuate. I felt a lot of fear, said Sanchez Barea, a guesthouse owner whose home is one of hundreds still in an exclusion zone."

"Scientists do not know if climate breakdown helped pull the trigger, but research suggests it loaded the chamber with bigger bullets. In Leiria, one of four regions in Portugal where extreme rain broke records in January, powerful winds added to the damage. Monte Real airbase logged a top wind speed of 109mph (176km/h) before the station was hit and measurements stopped."

"It was around this time that everything seemed to be falling apart, said Duarte, a beekeeper in Monte Real who lost half his hives. The house-rattling wind trapped him and his family indoors, where they could do nothing but avoid balconies and windows as they waited it out."

The western Mediterranean region experienced devastating storms in recent weeks, causing widespread destruction across Spain, Portugal, and Morocco. In Grazalema, Spain's wettest town, a year's rainfall fell in two weeks, overwhelming the karst aquifer and forcing mass evacuations as water invaded homes through floors, walls, and electrical sockets. Portugal's Leiria region recorded extreme rainfall breaking January records, while Storm Kristin produced winds exceeding 109mph, destroying infrastructure and killing residents. Morocco faced deadly flooding in coastal medinas. Scientists acknowledge climate breakdown may have intensified these storms, loading them with greater destructive potential, though direct causation remains uncertain.

Read at www.theguardian.com