Andalucía floods: оne week of taking shelter in Ronda amid gratitude, emotional exhaustion and uncertainty

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The evacuees having lunch in the sports hall in Ronda. Ñito Salas Society Andalucía floods: оne week of taking shelter in Ronda amid gratitude, emotional exhaustion and uncertainty

Nearly 200 residents from Benaoján and Grazalema remain in limbo at El Fuerte sports centre as technicians assess dam safety and home damage

Antonio M. Romero

Ronda

Friday, 13 February 2026, 11:21

It has been one week since almost 200 residents of Estación de Benaoján left their homes to share the sports centre in Ronda with the evacuees from Grazalema (Cadiz).

The heavy and persistent rainfall, the growing water level in the Montejaque dam and the state of their houses have created a bitter-sweet emotional limbo of gratitude, exhaustion and uncertainty.

With no date set for their return yet, SUR visited the El Fuerte de Ronda sports centre on Thursday to check in on the evacuees. Grazalema town hall employee Eva expressed everybody's impatience to return home, but said that they all want "to do it safely".

They are grateful for the treatment they have received from institutions, emergency units and the town of Ronda. "They are looking after us divinely. We can't complain because we don't lack anything," María Vázquez said, while knitting alongside her neighbour Josefa Fernández.

Like other people, they spend the time between "laughing, fear and crying". They are tired because the adverse weather conditions have pulled them away from their routines.

The evacuees receive daily assistance from Ronda volunteers, doctors, psychologists and even vets, as many are sheltering with their whole families, which includes the pets.

Sergio González, for example, is more worried about his dog Magui's well-being. "Even though we are having a bad time these days, we are fine because of the way people have behaved towards us," he said.

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Josefa Fernández, left, and María Vázquez, right, knitting on Thursday morning. Ñito Salas

Sergio was sitting next to Manuel Gamero and his dog Niebla, who shared that, while he also wants to go home, he is "holding on", because of the risk that "the dam might burst".

Safe but concerned about their homes

In reality, what most of the evacuees fear is the state of their homes when they return, whenever that is.

Once the intense rains stopped, technicians started assessing the state of the ground and that of houses. The Montejaque dam is still threatening to flood inhabited land. Only when these risks are gone can the residents return.

Josefa remembers living with similar fears in 1963. "My house is old and when we came here, water was coming out of the bathroom, the floor and the steps leading to the street. I'm afraid to go home because I don't know what I'm going to find," she said.

"I'm afraid to go home because I don't know what I'm going to find."

Josefa Fernández, Grazalema resident

Luis David and his partner Candela Román are lucky to have a flat in another town, where they could safely move. Nevertheless, they share their neighbours' concerns about their homes.

On Thursday, they also visited the evacuees in Ronda. Luis said that they are used to a lot of rain in Grazalema, but what they experienced last week "has been exceptional".

José María Varea is one of the young people from Grazalema who have mobilised themselves to assist others. They facilitate the distribution of supplies and resources and assess what's most needed. "We're all a bit tired after so many days," he said.

If anything, this crisis has proved that the Spanish have empathy to give. Chelo Gámez and Chelo Simón, among others, have been bringing food supplies and whetever the evacuees need. "In life you have to show solidarity and even more so at times when people need help and are in distress, that's why we are here," they said.

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Volunteers walk past the blackboard where the lunch and dinner menus are written down each day. Ñito Salas

Public officials are also consistently visiting the sports centres, among them Mayor of Ronda Maripaz Fernández and head of the education and youth service of the provincial authority José Santaolalla, who delivered recreational and leisure materials on Thursday.

The regional government's subdelegate in Malaga province Javier Salas has urged all public institutions to "redirect" their economic efforts to support people and companies affected by the storm.