The Iberian Peninsula was placed on high alert on Thursday as torrential rain and powerful winds lashed Spain and Portugal, causing widespread disruption, felling trees, and forcing school closures in several areas.
A person sustained serious injuries after being struck by a falling tree in Catalonia, northeastern Spain, amidst the latest in a series of storms to hit the region.
Further south, a section of Portugal’s A1 motorway, connecting the north and south, collapsed near the historic city of Coimbra on Wednesday night following a levee breach.
Red alerts, the highest possible warning level, were declared across the northern Spanish regions of Galicia, Cantabria, and the Basque Country with the arrival of Storm Nils on Wednesday – the eighth such weather event this year.
The national weather agency, AEMET, cautioned residents about waves potentially reaching nine metres (30 feet) in height.
In Catalonia, authorities suspended classes and sporting events, alongside restricting non-essential healthcare services.
Wind gusts exceeding 105 km per hour (65 mph) brought down trees, severely impacting both road and rail networks throughout the region.
At least five people – including the person who was in serious condition after being hit by a tree – have been injured in the winds in Catalonia, Nuria Parlon, the head of the region’s interior department, told radio station RAC1.
Catalan civil protection services sent a mobile emergency alert warning the population to stay indoors and avoid unnecessary travel.
At least 40 flights departing from or landing at Barcelona’s El Prat airport have been cancelled, sources at airport operator Aena told Reuters.
The airport remained operational but with restrictions that could cause further delays and cancellations, they said.
In Portugal, a weather phenomenon known as an “atmospheric river” – a wide corridor of concentrated water vapour carrying massive amounts of moisture from the tropics – brought new downpours, affecting the north to a greater extent, where authorities have evacuated about 3,000 residents.
The Portuguese Institute of the Sea and the Atmosphere (IPMA) said Storm Oriana – a separate Atlantic depression approaching the north of the peninsula – would not directly affect mainland Portugal, but would cause heavy rainfall and wind across most of the country on Thursday and Friday.
Infrastructure Minister Miguel Pinto Luz told reporters that restoring the affected stretch of the A1 motorway would take weeks, as repairs needed to wait for the floodwaters to recede.
The situation in Coimbra was stable overnight and there was no need to conduct additional evacuations, state news agency Lusa reported on Thursday, citing a source in the local civil protection service.
Source: independent.co.uk