Two women dead, two babies injured in flash flood and landslide in northern Spain

Flood and landslide in El Bierzo

A sudden storm triggered torrential rains across the El Bierzo region of Castile and León on Saturday afternoon, causing a debris flow of water and mud that struck the small village of Manzanedo de Valdueza in the province of León. Torrents of water fell on the village as the landslide swept down from the surrounding hills. The downpour also affected the nearby locality of Bouzas, where several vehicles were swept away by floodwaters, though no injuries were reported there. Both villages, crossed by the Oza river, were left isolated after the landslide made roads impassable. The wider community of Castile and León remained under a storm alert as heavy storms battered Spain on Saturday evening, producing extreme weather phenomena across the region.

Casualties and rescue

Six people were inside a wine cellar on Calle de la Iglesia in Manzanedo de Valdueza when water and mud poured into the basement space after the landslide hit the village. The emergency services of Castile and León issued a statement on the casualties.

The death of two women, aged approximately 60 and 80 respectively, has been confirmed.

Two babies were treated for minor contusions. Initial reports from the 112 emergency service had referenced multiple injuries and missing persons, but the Government Subdelegation in the province of León later confirmed that no one remained unaccounted for after the bodies of the two women were recovered. A man over 80 who had been reported missing was later found unharmed.

Emergency response

Several calls alerted authorities shortly before 19:30 local time (18:30 Lisbon time), prompting the mobilization of Ponferrada firefighters, National Police, Ponferrada Local Police, the Emergency Coordination Center of the Regional Government of Castile and León, and the Disaster and Emergency Psychological Intervention Group (GRIPDE). The Emergency Coordination Center of the Agency for Civil Protection and Emergencies also activated a rescue helicopter, which was sent to the area to assist in search and evacuation operations. Images filmed from the rescue helicopter showed the affected zone situated in hilly, wooded terrain. Firefighters, police, ambulances, and members of the Civil Guard were also dispatched to the site. National Police officers remain deployed in the zone, and emergency services continue monitoring the storm's evolution and damage in other affected population centers.

Terrain and wildfire connection

Olegario Ramón, president of the Council of the El Bierzo comarca, attempted to travel to both affected localities but confirmed that roads are impassable and the towns are isolated due to the landslide and mud. He expressed "great concern" about what happened and attributed it partly to terrain conditions affected by last year's severe wildfires, which left the soil without the vegetation needed to stabilize it. The absence of vegetation on slopes burned in previous fire seasons reduces the terrain's capacity to absorb and channel rainfall, increasing the likelihood of mudslides when intense precipitation strikes. Ramón noted that the ground in the affected area still lacks the plant cover necessary to hold the soil in place during severe weather events.