Drought Reveals 'Ghost' Village That Was Flooded Three Decades Ago

Droughts have revealed a usually submerged ‘ghost’ village on the Spanish-Portuguese border.

The Aceredo village in Spain’s north-western Galicia region was flooded in 1992 to create the Alto Lindoso reservoir - however, the reservoir is currently at around 15 percent of its full capacity meaning the village is now visible. 

The eerie grey ruins have proved to be a hit with tourists who have flocked to the village to check it out three decades after it was flooded. 

Visitor Maximino Pérez Romero, from A Coruña, told Reuters: “It’s as if I’m watching a movie. I have a feeling of sadness. 

“My feeling is that this is what will happen over the years due to drought and all that, with climate change.”

MIGUEL RIOPA/AFP via Getty Images

José Álvarez, who used to work in Aceredo, said: “It’s terrible, but it is what it is. That’s life. Some die and others live.”

Among the old crumbling buildings rusting cars can be seen as well as various other items that hint at how the village used to be. 

María del Carmen Yañez, mayor of the larger Lobios council, of which Aceredo is part, said the droughts are due to lack of rain, but also said some of the problem was ‘quite aggressive exploitation’ of Portugal’s power utility EDP, which looks after the reservoir. 

Alamy

At the beginning of this month, Portugal ordered six dams, including this one, to nearly halt all water use for electricity production and irrigation, because of the drought. 

This isn’t the first time the village has been visible due to droughts - back in 2012, water levels got so low the village was partially revealed. 

And, similar to now, it attracted tourists who were keen to catch a glimpse of the forgotten village. 

But for those who used to live there, seeing the properties after so long was tinged with sadness.  

Francisco Villalonga told the local La Región newspaper at the time: "I can see this might be interesting for visitors from elsewhere, but for those of us whose roots are there it is hard to see it like this.

"Seeing the houses where they were born and raised has made people very nostalgic for the past. That is a very Galician thing.”