11th-century Spanish town that's usually underwater emerges in one of 'worst droughts in 50 years'
Catalonia’s 7.7 million residents are suffering the effects of a 32-month drought and could soon enter a drought emergency, officials said.
Long-lost structures built nearly 1,000 years ago are resurfacing – again – amid a historic drought in Spain.
According to Euronews, Catalan leader Pere Aragones said that officials in Barcelona and the surrounding region are dealing with one of "the worst droughts in 50 years," which has led remnants of Sant Romà – an 11th-century village that disappeared underwater in 1963 when a nearby dam was built – to become more visible. When revealed, a church, empty cemetery and the foundations of other buildings can be seen intact.
Spain’s government warned Tuesday about the eventual need for emergency measures to conserve water. Officials said that reservoirs connected to the Ter-Llobregat river system, which provides the main water supply for Barcelona, have shrunk to 27% of capacity, The Associated Press reported.
To conserve water, authorities successfully moved some 13 cubic hectometers of water from Catalonia’s Sau reservoir to storage in recent weeks.
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A drought emergency will likely be declared in September unless there is a substantial amount of rainfall in the area in the coming months, the AP reported.
"At this point, it's the worst problem we're facing," Aragones said.
Camille Fine is a trending visual producer on Paste BN's NOW team.
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