The intense rains of the last few hours have caused the Zadorra river, the main river in Vitoria, to begin to overflow in some places, such as the Abetxuko neighborhood, in the north of the city, or Astegieta, close to Mercedes-Benz. or Mercavitoria. The same river has also gone out of its channel in other parts of Álava such as Margarita or Trespuentes, indicates Radio Vitoria.
In Abetxuko, a neighborhood-town where they are accustomed to the river flooding either due to the rains or due to the discharge of the swamps of the Zadorra system, at 11:00 a.m. some residents were already walking through the flooded areas. Two ‘huskies’, in fact, were enjoying the large puddles created by the overflowing river. “This is nothing. Three years ago it was worse,” commented one man, making light of the episode. “We’ve just started, huh?” responded the owner of the dogs.
They were referring to the floods on this day three years ago. In 2021, a discharge became necessary after several continuous days of rain. The Urrunaga and Ullibarri-Gamboa reservoirs, the main bodies of water in Euskadi, were inches away from overflowing. The situation was about to be critical. Right now the reservoirs do not reach 80% of their total capacity and relief movements are not necessary, according to data from the Ebro Hydrographic Confederation.
In figures, the Zadorra in Abetxuko has exceeded 4 meters level this Monday noon. It didn’t reach five feet 24 hours ago. The red level is nowhere near being declared. For now, the City Council has already closed the walk parallel to the river. The URA works on the south bank – retaining walls – are designed to contain the rises. That same green ring walk, in Astegieta, is directly impassable. The level of the river is being “controlled” from the first hour, which can affect important traffic routes such as the exits to Donostia or Bilbao, among others.
In Bizkaia, the Cadagua River is specially monitored due to the risk of flooding in the Encartaciones. There is also an alert in the Arratia basin. In Gipuzkoa, likewise, one looks at the Oria or the Bidasoa, which flows into Irún and which comes with an increased flow. Euskalmet, however, has lowered the rainfall alert from orange to yellow. There are also warnings for snowfall in the interior, the first of the season.
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