One man dead, a woman missing, as Storm Leonardo hits Spain and Portugal

An elderly man died in flood waters in Portugal and a woman was swept away by a swollen river in Spain after trying to rescue her dog, as Storm Leonardo lashed the Iberian peninsula with heavy rains and strong winds on Thursday.

Leonardo is the latest in a wave of half a dozen winter storms to hit Portugal and Spain since the start of 2026, killing several people, ripping roofs off homes and flooding towns.

A man of around 70 died on Wednesday in Portugal’s southern Alentejo region after his car was swept away on a flooded road near a dam, Portuguese authorities said.

In southern Spain’s Malaga province, a woman was missing after she was dragged away by the Turvilla river’s strong current while trying to rescue her dog.

“We spent the whole afternoon and night yesterday searching in the river from the place where the woman fell in until the very end of the river. We found the dog, but not her,” Malaga fire chief Manuel Marmolejo said on Spanish television.

A search party of more than 30 people using helicopters and drones was still searching for her, police said.

Spain’s Deputy Prime Minister Maria Jesus Montero said 148 roads had been affected by lane closures, especially in Cadiz province, and 3,500 police have been deployed to help with evacuations.

STORM MARTA THE NEXT TO HIT IBERIA

Storm Marta, the next weather front in the so-called “storm train”, is expected to hit the region over the weekend, according to state weather agency Aemet.

Reconstruction costs in Portugal after last week’s Storm Kristin alone could total over €4 billion ($4.7 billion), Economy Minister Manuel Castro Almeida said.

People waded waist-deep through Alcacer do Sal in southern Portugal after successive storms caused the river Sado to breach its banks. Restaurant terraces were completely underwater, with sandbags stacked in front of doors to protect homes and shops.

“I’ve never seen anything like this. It’s surreal,” said resident Maria Cadacha. “There are a lot of people here, very good people, many shopkeepers, homes with damage. I wouldn’t want to be in their shoes.”

Fourteen rivers and ten dams were at “extreme” risk of overflowing, Antonio Sanz, head of the regional government’s interior department said on Wednesday.

Seville on Thursday closed the Guadalquivir river floodgates to protect the historic neighbourhood of Triana from flooding, only the second time it has done so since their construction in 2011.

Police cordoned off an area around Seville’s cathedral after pieces from its Giralda bell tower fell due to strong winds.