Storm Leonardo, which hits Spain and Portugal, led the Portuguese government to declare a state of calamity in 68 municipalities, according to a statement released this Friday, 6th, but did not suspend the second round of the presidential elections scheduled to take place on Sunday.
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The National Elections Commission of Portugal, which is the country’s electoral authority, declared in a statement on Thursday that the vote will take place as planned. “The existence of a state of calamity, meteorological warnings or adverse situations of a general nature does not, in itself, constitute a sufficient basis for postponing the vote at the communal or district level”, he explains.
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In Portugal, a man died due to rising waters from Storm Leonardo, while a girl remains missing after being swept away by a raging river in Spain. The natural event is bringing more heavy rain and intense winds to the Iberian Peninsula.
In the Andalusia region of southern Spain, around 4,000 people evacuated their homes due to the storm, and dozens of roads remained closed because of flooding and landslides.
The Spanish weather agency lifted the high alert for southern Spain but added that another storm system was expected over the weekend. Leonardo is the latest in a series of storms that have hit Spain and Portugal in recent weeks.
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*With information from the Associated Press
