Several successive low‑pressure systems have triggered widespread flooding across the western Mediterranean, leaving billions of euros in damage. In Portugal, 13 people have been confirmed dead, Morocco has reported four fatalities and one missing person, and tens of thousands of residents have had to abandon their homes.
Early estimates put the cost of the damage to agriculture in Andalusia-the southern region of Spain-at about €3.4 billion, since roughly 75 percent of the region’s farmland is affected. Road repairs in Andalusia are forecast to cost around €500 million. In Portugal the total damage is projected to exceed €4 billion.
The floods were caused by these low‑pressure systems, which normally track across Northern and Central Europe. On this occasion, they carried warm, moist air from the Caribbean, and the seas have been especially warm as a result of climate change.
