Isolated by Water: Inside El Secadero’s 'Ground Zero' as floods cut off 1,500 residents

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The village of El Secadero in Casares has become an island. Surrounded by the overflowing Guadiaro river, 1,500 residents are trapped without electricity, mobile coverage, or access to emergency services

José Carlos García

Casares

Thursday, 5 February 2026, 17:44

In a scene described by local officials as "apocalyptic," the village of El Secadero has been plunged into total isolation. Since 1.30 pm on Wednesday, road access has been severed; by 11.30pm the power grid failed.

Now, the 1,500 inhabitants are experiencing a "ground zero" reality: no internet, no shops, and no way out.

"It is causing chaos," Mayor Juan Luis Villalón (IU) told SUR via a precarious landline connection - the only communication link left.

Villalón, a resident himself, is managing the crisis from the municipal office.The situation is dire. Without electricity, the local minimarket’s electronic doors remain shut, leaving the village with no way to restock food.

Healthcare is equally compromised; the local pharmacist has handed the keys to the Town Hall so emergency supplies can be accessed in their absence..

As mobile batteries die, the village is losing its link to the outside world. The only security presence - a single Local Police patrol - is currently resting after a marathon shift. While they possess walkie-talkies, their colleagues in Casares remain unable to reach the site.

"There are houses where there is water right now and we can't get it out. We were in one yesterday getting water out with generators, but we had to run out because it suddenly started flooding very quickly and we left everything there".

"There are houses where there is water right now and we can't get it out," Villalón said. "We were using generators yesterday, but we had to flee when the flood surged."

The Guadiaro river’s "unprecedented" rise has forced the evacuation of over 20 people from seven families. They are currently being housed in the Ochomin hostel.

While some elderly residents chose to stay in their homes to protect property, the Town Hall confirms they are safe for now. However, with roads submerged, any urgent medical evacuation would currently require an airlift.

For a village that has been cut off three times in the last month, this is, without doubt, the most "fateful day" in its history.

The municipal services have been reinforcing the entrances to the houses with barriers to minimise the entry of water. Others, with water at the door, as in the case of a couple of 74 and 77 years old who live in El Acebuchal, on the other side of the river, decided to stay. This morning they spoke to them and "they are fine", says the Casares Town Hall, on the other side of the island that El Secadero has become.