The latest signal of how the situation in the eurozone's gone from bad to worse: Britain is writing up evacuation plans for expats in Spain and Portugal in case the European currency goes kaput. "The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is drawing up plans to evacuate thousands of British expatriates from Spain and Portugal in the event that their banking systems collapse," reports The Sunday Times. "It comes as credit rating agencies warn that the deal struck by EU leaders this month may not save the single currency from further turbulence and possible collapse." Britain would give the euro collapse a full natural-disaster-like treatment to the crisis, sending planes, boats, and automobiles to evacuate its citizens who would potentially be "sleeping at airports with no money and no means of getting home" after being unable to access their locked-down bank accounts. The Iberian Peninsula is a bit like ours in Florida: a warm and popular retirement spot for Britons in their Golden Years, many of whom have invested into property in their adoptive countries. Except the biggest disaster threat to Spain and Portugal and their wrinkly retirees aren't hurricanes or any other act of God, but instead a man-made economic collapse. There are some 1 million British expats in Spain, according to the Daily Mirror, more than any other EU nation. 

Want to add to this story? Let us know in comments or send an email to the author at dgrandoni at theatlantic dot com. You can share ideas for stories on the Open Wire.