The Jarama overflowed: the rise in San Fernando again highlighted the problem of building in risk areas

The rise of the Jarama in the San Fernando de Henares area flooded the structures erected on the riverbank and once again raised the question of urban development in areas susceptible to flooding.

After the water level rose, temporary structures and animal pens were left under water. On the days when the red danger level was declared for the Jarama, Henares and Alberche rivers, environmentalists warned that these facilities are in protected territory, officially classified as a flood zone, where construction is prohibited.

According to the Madrid Environmental Platform, this problem has been repeated for years: similar cases were already recorded during the Filomena episode and in last year's floods. Activists also point to the accumulation of waste and the pressure this places on the river ecosystem.

The City Council states that these are not homes, but allotments and temporary-use sheds. Owners were warned in advance and the animals were evacuated. At the same time, municipal services are continuing administrative proceedings over the illegal occupation of land.

Environmentalists insist that they have spent several years submitting complaints to the City Council, regional authorities and the Tagus River Basin Authority, but a structural solution has not yet been found. The new flood has only confirmed the vulnerability of this stretch of riverbank to future rises in water level.