Meanwhile, authorities step up emergency response.
Authorities in Portugal mobilized more than 26,500 rescuers on Saturday as Storm Marta neared, prompting three municipalities to postpone Sunday’s presidential vote until next week because of severe weather conditions.
Both countries warned of renewed flooding after earlier heavy rainfall submerged roads, disrupted rail services, and forced thousands from their homes, while Portuguese forecasts predicted intense rain, strong winds, and rough seas nationwide.
In Spain, regional alerts have intensified.
Spain’s national meteorological agency Aemet placed much of the south, especially Andalusia, and the northwest under orange alert for heavy rain and violent storms.
Other regions, including Castilla La Leon, Galicia, Murcia, and the Valencian Community, also received warnings, with authorities noting rainfall was expected to be less “exceptional” than during Storm Leonardo but cautioning that saturated ground heightened risks of flooding and landslides.
New downpours in Andalusia compounded earlier rainfall that had already caused widespread flooding, landslides, and forced more than 10,000 people from their homes.
Many roads remained closed and rail services were largely suspended, with officials urging residents to limit travel wherever possible.
Officials express mounting concern.
Mario Silvestre, commander at Portugal’s civil protection agency, described the forecast as “extremely worrying”.
Juan Manuel Moreno, president of the Andalusia region, wrote on X that the “rivers have hit their limit,” warning of wind gusts reaching 110 kilometres per hour (68 miles per hour), landslides, and flash floods.
“All the furniture is completely destroyed, the water broke the window, forced the doors open and then burst through the window from the other side,” Francisco Marques, a municipal employee in the central village of Constancia, told the AFP news agency.
After flying over flood-hit areas near Cadiz on Friday, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez warned that “difficult days” lay ahead for the region due to the “very dangerous” weather forecast, adding he was “bowled over at seeing the endless rain”.
Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro said the damage exceeded four billion euros ($4.7bn).
Separately, earlier storms have compounded the impact.
Portugal was already dealing with the aftermath of Storm Kristin, which caused five deaths, hundreds of injuries, and widespread power outages, when Storm Leonardo struck earlier this week.
Portugal’s National Meteorological Institute (IPMA) placed the entire coastline on orange alert because of heavy seas, with waves reaching up to 13 metres (43 feet), while eight of the mainland’s 18 districts, mainly in the centre and south, were also on orange alert.
“All river basins remain under severe pressure,” particularly the Tagus River near Lisbon and the Sado River further south, a spokesperson for the National Civil Protection Authority told AFP.
One person died in Portugal during Storm Leonardo and 1,100 people were evacuated nationwide, while successive atmospheric depressions forced dams to release “a volume of water equivalent to the country’s annual consumption” in just three days, according to Jose Pimenta Machado, president of the Portuguese Environment Agency.
Meanwhile, a geological study highlights long-term regional change.
Scientists report that Spain and Portugal are slowly rotating clockwise and moving toward Africa at about 4 to 6 millimeters per year due to convergence between the Eurasian and African tectonic plates.
Satellite GNSS measurements and seismic data indicate the Iberian Peninsula behaves differently from other parts of Europe because it lies within a diffuse plate boundary influenced partly by the Gibraltar Arc.
Researchers say this subtle deformation helps identify hidden faults and assess seismic risk today, while over tens to hundreds of millions of years it could contribute to gradual closure of the Mediterranean Sea and eventual continental collision, though the movement remains imperceptible on human timescales.