A drowned 1,000-year-old church has reemerged from below the waters of a reservoir due to severe drought
Advertisement
Isobel van Hagen
Mar 20, 2023, 16:33 IST
Tourists walk while fishermen collect fish from next to the church of the village of San Roman de Sau which re-emerged as Sau reservoir has the lowest level since 1990 due to extreme drought in Catalonia, near Vic, Spain March 15, 2023.Nacho Doce/REUTERS
The ruins of an 11th-century church remerged in Catalonia during Spain's months-long drought.
The Romanesque church, consecrated in 1062, was flooded in the 1960s when a dam was built nearby.
Advertisement
The remains of an ancient church have completely resurfaced in Spain despite once being underwater, as the country faces continued extreme droughts.
Water levels in the Catalonia region of the country are so low that the 11th-century Church of Sant Romà in the village of San Roman de Sau, 62 miles north of Barcelona, has reemerged from the shrinking reservoir. Navigation apps inadvertently say people are submerged in water when they are now standing on dry land, according to reporting by Reuters.
As visitors enjoy the unique pleasure of visiting the church for the first time in 50 years, fishermen are busily scooping up tons of fish in the depleted reservoir that would struggle to survive and contaminate what's left of the drinking water, Reuters said.
A man plays with his dog called 'Nina' as tourists walk on the cracked ground next to the village of San Roman de Sau's church, which was partially submerged and re-emerged as Sau reservoir has the lowest level since 1990 due to extreme drought in Catalonia, near Vic, Spain March 15, 2023.Nacho Doce/REUTERS
The Mediterranean country has entered a long-term drought — and high temperatures and low rainfall increasingly lead to the risk of heatwaves and fires, authorities said.
"The first available predictions for the summer of 2023 point to a likely situation of temperatures once again above normal," a spokesperson for the country's weather agency Aemet said on Friday, according to the Associated Press.
The country entered a period of drought at the end of 2022. It has continued into the first three months of this year. Catalonia officials recently asked citizens to decrease their water use.
The door of a house is pictured in the village of San Roman de Sau, which was partially submerged and re-emerged as Sau reservoir has the lowest level since 1990 due to extreme drought in Catalonia, near Vic, Spain March 15, 2023.REUTERS/Nacho Doce
The Romanesque church, consecrated in 1062, was flooded in the 1960s when a dam was built nearby, according to The Guardian, leaving only the tip of the distinctive tower visible.
The weather has been particularly dry along Spain's northeastern Mediterranean coast — including in Catalonia — because the area is a "no man's land" not "affected by the storms coming from the Atlantic and the Mediterranean," Aemet spokesperson Ruben del Campo told Reuters.
Motorcyclists ride next to the village of San Roman de Sau which was partially submerged and re-emerged as Sau reservoir has the lowest level since 1990 due to extreme drought in Catalonia, near Vic, Spain March 15, 2023.REUTERS/Nacho Doce
"Heat waves in this geographical area of the planet are more frequent and are increasing more frequently than in other regions," he said, referring to the effects of climate change.
Del Campo added that this year's drought is not the most severe Spain has faced but has warmed 1.3 degrees Celsius (34 Fahrenheit) since the 1960s.
{{}}
NewsletterSIMPLY PUT - where we join the dots to inform and inspire you. Sign up for a weekly brief collating many news items into one untangled thought delivered straight to your mailbox.
'I don't live with snakes. Do you?': A Georgia senior citizen was forced to leave her rental home after finding snakes in her furniture
A woman remains free of HIV 5 years after receiving a stem cell transplant, researchers say
A nature videographer flying a drone spotted an endangered loggerhead sea turtle struggling in the red tide. He quickly alerted wildlife officials who showed up to save it.