Drought uncovers submerged ghost towns

Abandoned ghost towns are reappearing in Europe after spending decades underwater thanks to an ongoing severe drought.

These towns have been emerging from the depths in Spain and Portugal as lakes and reservoirs dry amid an unrelenting period of little rainfall.

In Spain, the Aceredo village which was deserted in 1992 is now on show after water in the Alto Lindoso reservoir dropped to just 15% of its capacity.

The village contained 70 houses while occupied, many of which survived the depths created after the closure of floodgates at a Portuguese hydroplant. This led to the River Limea flooding the land.

In Portugal the ruins of another village has also reappeared. Vilar was submerged in 1954 after a dam was opened to flood the valley it rests in.

A 2000-year-old village, once home to 300 people, in the Peneda-Gerês National Park was another inhabited area flooded. This time in 1971 and with water levels at just 20% capacity in the resulting reservoir its old walls regularly reappear.

Purposefully submerging residential areas is not a rare occurrence, and takes place around the world.

In Italy, the spire of a 14th-century church can be seen above the waters of Lake Reschen, an artificial lake created in 1950 which flooded multiple villages and cultivated land.

Data from the Portuguese Institute for Sea and Atmosphere shows that 53.7% of Portugal is currently under moderate drought, 34.2% in severe drought, and 11.5% in extreme drought.

In Spain, only 10% of land has been declared to be under a prolonged drought but saw just 35% of its average rainfall to end 2021.