Ghost town rises from cracked earth, 30 years after it was inundated for Spanish reservoir

Tourists are flocking to a creepy phenomenon after a severe drought saw a ghost town, not seen for 30 years, rise from the cracked earth.

A drought has emptied a Spanish reservoir, revealing a ghost village 30 years after it was submerged by a dam.

With almost no rain for two months and not much expected any time soon, the ruins of Aceredo are dredging up a mix of emotions for locals, The Sun reported.

Roofs peeking out of the water have become a common sight every summer at the Lindoso reservoir in northwestern Spain.

Locals can see the rusted carcass of a car, a stone fountain with water still spouting and the old road leading to what used to be the local bar.

In especially dry years, parts of the old village of Aceredo would appear submerged three decades ago when a hydropower dam flooded the valley.

But never before has the skeleton of the village emerged in its entirety in the middle of the usually wet winter season.

Buildings that were previously submerged in Aceredo. Picture: Octavio Passos/Getty Images

One of the buildings rising up from the reservoir. Picture: Octavio Passos/Getty Images

The uncovered Aceredo has become a tourist attraction. Picture: Rosa Veiga/Europa Press via Getty Images

Pensioner Maximino Perez Romero, 65, from A Coruna, said he felt as if he was watching a movie.

“I have a feeling of sadness,” he said. “My feeling is that this is what will happen over the years due to drought and all that, with climate change.”

Jos Luis Penn, 72, used to stop at the bar with friends at the end of a day's fishing.

“The whole place used to be all vineyards, orange trees. It was all green. It was beautiful,” he said. Mr Penn, who lives in the same region, pointing at the cracked, yellow bed of the reservoir, added: “Look at it now. It’s so sad.”

Tourists have flocked to the bizarre site. Picture: Octavio Passos/Getty Images

The usually submerged ruins began to appear late last year. Picture: Miguel Riopa/AFP

Tourists wandering through the ruins. Picture: Rosa Veiga/Europa Press via Getty Images

While the arid zones of Spain’s Iberian Peninsula have historically experienced periods of drought, experts say climate change has exacerbated the problem.

This year, amid record levels of low or no rainfall at all, farmers in both Portugal and Spain, who are growing produce for all of Europe, are worried that their crops for this season will be ruined.

In the last three months of 2021, Spain recorded just 35 per cent of the average rainfall it had seen during the same period from 1981 to 2010.

But there has been almost no rain since then.

According to the national weather agency AEMET, in this century, only in 2005 has there been a January with almost no rain.

If clouds don’t unleash in the next two weeks, emergency subsidies for farmers will be needed, authorities said.

But Rubén del Campo, a spokesman for the weather service, said the below-average rainfall over the last six months was likely to continue for several more weeks, with hopes that spring will bring much-needed relief.

Former residents of the town have become emotional at its reveal. Picture: Rosa Veiga/Europa Press via Getty Images

People living in the Aceredo village were ejected from their homes in 1992 for the construction of the reservoir. Picture: Miguel Riopa/AFP

Crops at risk

While only 10 per cent of Spain has officially been declared under a prolonged drought, there are large areas, particularly in the south, which are facing extreme shortages that could impact the irrigation of crops.

The valley around the Guadalquivir River in Spain's southwest was declared under prolonged drought in November.

It is now the focus of a fierce environmental dispute over water rights near Doñana National Park, a World Heritage wetland site.

The government of the Andalusia region wants to grant water rights to farmers on land near the park, but critics say the move will further endanger a major wildlife refuge that is already drying up.

The wreckage of a vehicle in Aceredo. Picture: Miguel Riopa/AFP

Europe is being rocked by a drought. Picture: Miguel Riopa/AFP

The past two, three years have been dry, with the tendency toward less and less rain, said Andres Gongora, a 46-year-old tomato farmer in southern Almeria.

Mr Gongora, who expects the water he uses from a desalinating plant to be rationed, is still better off than other farmers who specialise in wheat and grains for livestock feed.

The cereal crops for this year have been lost, Mr Gongora said.

The leading association of farmers and livestock breeders in Spain, COAG, warns that half of Spain’s farms are threatened by drought this year.

It says if it does not rain heavily in the coming month, rain-fed crops including cereals, olives, nuts and vineyards could lose 60 per cent to 80 per cent of their production.

Spain's government plans to dedicate more than €570 million ($A904 million) from the European Union's pandemic recovery fund to make its irrigation systems more efficient, including incorporating renewable energy systems.

This article originally appeared on The Sun and was reproduced with permission