Man dies after being swept away by floods in car as Storm Leonardo batters Spain and Portugal

The army have been deployed in Spain as rivers and reservoirs near breaking point

At least one person has been killed and thousands forced to evacuate as Storm Leonardo ripped through Spain and Portugal this week.

Torrential rains left rivers and reservoirs at “extreme” risk of overflowing across the Iberian Peninsula, with schools shut and trains cancelled.

A man in his sixties was found dead in his vehicle after being swept away by a powerful current near a dam in the municipality of Serpa in Portugal.

“A vehicle was found with one occupant, so there is one death,” a spokesperson for the national civil protection authority said.

Grazalema, in Andalusia, faced the amount of rainfall that Madrid sees in an entire year in a 24-hour period, with over 40cm of rain, according to a spokesperson from weather agency AEMET.

Regional and national authorities have deployed significant resources to contain the damage, a week after Storm Kristin left six dead and thousands without power.

At least 3,500 people were evacuated in the southern region of Andalusia this week as widespread flooding continued. More than 1,200 emergency personnel and 400 military service members deployed to assist in the most at-risk areas.

People watch as excess levels of water flow down the Pozo de los Humos waterfall (AFP/Getty)

Authorities also called in emergency aircraft and helicopters to monitor the regions considered most critical.

AEMET has put the area under the highest alert warning of “extraordinary” levels of rain, floods and landslides.

The effects have been compounded by oversaturated ground, as Maria Paz Fernandez, mayor of Ronda, told public broadcaster RTVE that the issue was getting worse because “the ground can no longer absorb” the rain. She spoke of “numerous landslides” in the surrounding rural areas.

Portugal raised its alert level to the maximum until at least Friday, as authorities warned that several rivers were at high risk of flooding.

In Alcacer do Sal, 55 miles (90km) south of Lisbon, the Sado river overflowed its banks and caused flooding in parts of the town on Wednesday.

Destruction left by Storm Kristin in Leiria, Portugal (Reuters)

Portugal’s National Civil Protection service said water levels were likely to rise over the coming days. Armed forces have deployed approximately 1,600 personnel, which include marine teams using 35 inflatable boats, to rescue people from flooding.

“It’s been raining like this for hours. The river has already overflowed, and people are very worried inside their homes. We are experiencing many power cuts,” Jose Luis Castillo, a resident of Jimera de Libar, told Reuters.

Nearly 134,000 households were still without electricity this week after the devastating impacts of Storm Kristin. Around 95,000 of them in the Leiria region in the centre of the country, power distribution company E-Redes said.