“Storm “Christine” has spread to Spain, the number of victims of bad weather has increased in Portugal.”, — write: www.pravda.com.ua
Source: BBC
The storm, which the government described as an “extreme climate phenomenon”, led to the closure of schools, damage to buildings and major transport disruptions.
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In the coastal town of Figueira da Foch, a Ferris wheel overturned and several cars were damaged when the wind blew off part of a building’s roof.
Portugal has been hit by a series of storms in recent days, including a man who died over the weekend after his car was washed away by a flood.
Heavy rain and wind gusts of up to 150 km/h caused more than 3,000 weather-related incidents across the country, civil defense authorities said. Several people were injured by falling trees or debris.
The strongest winds were recorded at the Monte Real Air Base in Leiria, where wind gusts reached 178 km/h before the monitoring equipment was destroyed. Officials said the location was likely the storm’s point of entry into mainland Portugal.
More than 850,000 people were without electricity on Wednesday, according to the electricity company E-Redes.
The Civil Protection Agency (ANEPC) reported that three people died in the central district of Leiria, one of the worst affected areas.
According to officials, in Leiria, one person was injured by a metal sheet, and another was stuck in the construction of a house. Local media reported that a man died when a tree fell on his car in Vila Franca de Chira.
There were also reports of the death of a person in the Marinha Grande area.
Transport links across Portugal were severely disrupted, with roads, including the main motorway linking Lisbon to the north, and railways blocked by debris.
According to the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and Atmospheric (IPMA), ten coastal areas were declared red on Wednesday due to dangerous conditions at sea, where waves are forecast to reach 14 meters.
The Public Security Police (PSP) urged residents of Coimbra and Leiria to stay indoors, while Portugal’s Secretary of State for Civil Protection said the country remained on the highest level of alert.
After crossing Portugal, the storm “Christine” moved to the east, towards Spain, bringing with it snow, rain and strong winds.
The storm caused widespread disruption across the country, with schools, roads and rail lines closed and hundreds of thousands without power.
In Andalusia, emergency services reported about 2,000 incidents related to the weather.
Spain’s national meteorological agency AEMET warned of very strong winds in some areas, the gusts of which could reach hurricane force. Due to strong winds, a red level of weather danger was declared for some areas of Almeria in the southeast.
What preceded: It was reported that the storm “Christine”, which passed through the mainland of Portugal, led to the death of four people.
We will remind: Storm Christine has become one of the most powerful weather events in Portugal in recent years, causing more than 3,300 incidents in a matter of hours.
On Wednesday, Britain was warned of massive flooding due to the storm.