The residents of Benaoján and Grazalema, evacuated in Ronda, might start returning to their homes as of this Monday.

The president of the Regional Government of Andalusia, Juanma Moreno, has visited the Serranía de Ronda to firsthand see some of the areas most affected by the storm series and to visit the evacuees from Benaoján and Grazalema who are being assisted in one of Ronda's sports pavilions.

Moreno toured, along with the mayor of Cartajima, Isabel Jiménez, various sites in this locality which has suffered significant damage from the storm. The municipality has experienced landslides and significant cracks have appeared in the streets. This situation forced the evacuation of nine families due to the risk that the landslides posed to their homes. An exterior wall of the cemetery was also affected.

The evacuation of the residents of Grazalema and Benaoján is beginning to come to an end. If everything goes as planned and the technicians who inspect the area this Sunday authorize it, the 1,600 people who, on February 5, had to leave their homes and go to Ronda - where they were welcomed - will be able to return starting this Monday, ten days after being evacuated due to the intense rains that in just 24 hours left about 600 liters per square meter on an already saturated aquifer, causing water to start leaking through walls, tiles, and outlets. It should be noted, however, that not everyone will return at once.

This was announced by the president of the Regional Government of Andalusia, Juanma Moreno, who this Sunday visited the El Fuerte sports pavilion, where for more than a week over half a thousand of these evacuees have been living (although it should be remembered that for sleeping they were able to stay in hotels and apartments in the City of Ronda). The return to Grazalema of the nearly 1,600 evacuated residents will be done, however, "progressively" and by areas, always following the technicians' instructions, as specified by the Andalusian president.

Moreno told the residents that it will be done in "phases" and that "this afternoon it will be determined, based on the geologists' own reports, which areas of the municipality and the urban area are safe." According to his explanation, CSIC experts are "measuring the level of danger the municipality could have in terms of sinkholes, landslides, in short, any circumstance that could pose a danger to families" and, depending on what they say, "from this afternoon we would be in a position to start providing information that would allow some of the residents of Grazalema to return."

Therefore, the president of the Regional Government insisted to the residents that the decision will not be made on the entire town of Grazalema, "because studies are still being conducted and we all agree that safety and prevention must come first." "It will be done by areas, because not all of the municipality will be possible today," he reiterated, considering that "this opens a ray of hope that we can begin to end this situation." "It is already good news that we could make those decisions starting this afternoon, which would allow the return of some residents to areas that can be considered safe," he stated.

Moreno also emphasized that "this is not a political decision" made by the Municipality of Grazalema and the Regional Government of Andalusia, but rather "a decision made by both administrations, but always based on the specialists' reports."

Moreno also spoke directly with the residents accompanied by the mayor of Ronda, María de la Paz Fernández, the mayor of Benaoján, Guillermo Becerra, and the mayor of Grazalema, Carlos García. Specifically, the Andalusian president praised the coordinated work in response to these evacuations by a mayor from the PSOE and a mayor from the PP.

Additionally, he also had the opportunity to talk with teams of volunteers, cooks, security forces, and civil protection who are working to address this emergency. A team that takes care of feeding them, attending to needs for clothing, personal hygiene, or accommodation, since none of them sleep in the pavilion and are staying in hotels and tourist apartments in Ronda.

The evacuees themselves made sure to convey to Moreno Bonilla their satisfaction with the attention they were receiving from the city of Ronda.

Something that the president could verify firsthand as he decided to stay in the pavilion for lunch. "I've been told that the food here is very good, if you don't mind I will eat with you," he remarked.

Children schooled in Ronda

Despite the announcement made about a progressive return, the Regional Government of Andalusia has also established that students from educational centers in Grazalema be schooled in centers in Ronda, specifically in the Miguel de Cervantes school and the IES Martín Rivero. In this way, they can resume face-to-face classes until educational activities return to their centers.