This is the desperate moment locals in Jubrique were filmed throwing sandbags onto a street in a bid to stop a torrent of water from invading their homes.
It comes as relentless rainwater continues to sweep through the streets of the Cadiz town, which is becoming one of the hardest hit by Storm Marta.
Further evacuations have been carried out due to the flooding, while many have been left without electricity in the town’s lower areas, with power cuts recurring throughout Saturday.
So far, more than 80 families have been ordered to leave their homes and further evacuations have not been ruled out.
Geologist Nahum Mendez explained that one of the key problems lies beneath the town itself.
‘Ubrique sits on porous rock,’ he told La Sexta.
‘It absorbs huge amounts of water, and when all those pores fill up, the rock can’t take any more and releases the water wherever it can. That’s one of the main risks.’
Working in darkness, council workers and the Proteccion Civil force are trying to stabilise a sinkhole that opened earlier in the week at a local nursery school.
They are filling it with large rocks to stop water from continuing to batter the building’s walls. If the remaining wall were to collapse, it could create a blockage in the channel currently carrying much of the floodwater.
Elsewhere in the town, the Ayuntamiento de Ubrique has urged residents to move to the upper floors of their homes.
Neighbours have also been asked to pass the message on in person, as mobile phone coverage is unreliable in some areas.
Late on Saturday afternoon, council safety officers held a meeting attended by engineers from the Direccion General de Infraestructuras del Agua of the Junta de Andalucia.
The mayor has also met with experts from the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas to assess what steps should be taken in the coming hours.
The municipal swimming pool centre has been opened to accommodate families who need temporary shelter.
Specialists have warned that, with this latest storm, Ubrique could even face the risk of a full evacuation, similar to the situation experienced in Grazalema.
For now, evacuations have been limited to around 80 families, in an operation that took just 30 minutes.
Read more Andalucia news at the Spanish Eye.
