On 10 November, the authorities in Castile and León ordered the evacuation of the municipality of Piedralaves (province of Ávila) The trigger was the increased risk, due to prolonged heavy rain, that the small reservoir Presa del Horcajo would overflow. The Agencia de Protección Civil y Emergencias of the Junta de Castilla y León sent an ES-ALERT to mobile phones in the affected area and coordinated the relocation of residents to prepared emergency shelters together with the Guardia Civil and local emergency services.
According to the regional authorities, evacuations began in the morning. Priority was given to particularly vulnerable people, including 66 residents of a care home, who were immediately taken to safe facilities. The municipal sports centre and the Colegio San Juan de la Cruzserved as the first reception points; additional capacity was made available in neighbouring towns. Piedralaves town centre is around 1.5 kilometres from the facility.
The Presa del Horcajo is a small retention dam. The Junta’s territorial delegate in Ávila put its storage capacity at around 0.3 million cubic metres. The water level rose rapidly because of the strong inflows. The state meteorological service AEMET had issued severe weather warnings for the area. The Junta then activated the relevant elements of its flood and civil protection plans and urged the public to exercise caution and follow official instructions.
So far, the authorities have offered only limited information about the technical condition of the dam. Assessments are under way to evaluate its stability, discharge capacity and any possible safety measures. There is no confirmed indication of a dam failure. The emergency services have explicitly left open any statements about the scale of damage or the expected duration of the evacuation.
Alongside managing the danger, emergency services are focusing on logistics and supplies, particularly for older and ill people. Municipal services and volunteers are helping with transport, accommodation and information. The Junta said it would continue to assess the situation and take further measures if inflows persist or conditions at the Presa del Horcajo change.
Spanish media and the institutions concerned are reporting consistently that the evacuation was orderly and that regional and local authorities worked in close coordination. According to the Junta, decisions on return will depend on precise technical assessments, which will only be possible once water levels have fallen.
Editor: Mira Cadena (Article created with AI assistance).