Lorraine Williamson
Despite the fact that Kirk has lost the category of hurricane and has grown into “a very strong gust of wind,” the storm’s passage through Spain on Wednesday has caused damage and chaos. In most cases, this was due to the strong winds and heavy rainfall. Northern Spain was particularly affected.
At least nine people were injured, six of them by falling trees and other objects displaced by gusts of more than 140 km / h in populated areas. Wind gusts reached up to 205 km/h in the Mirador del Cable, in the Picos de Europa (Cantabria), according to weather service Aemet.
In addition, there were more than a thousand incidents, mainly in Galicia, Cantabria, the Basque Country and Castilla y León. Flights were diverted or cancelled and trains were stranded due to obstacles on the tracks.
At least nine injured by Kirk
In Castilla y León, 8 people were injured, 112 Castilla y León reported. Among them was a 30-year-old man who was injured after being hit by a door moved by the wind on a farm in Fuente El Olmo de Fuentidueña (Segovia).
In the province of Valladolid, two men, aged 47 and 25, needed medical attention at 2.03 pm. Several cars crashed into each other on the A-6 motorway in the direction of Madrid, in Medina del Campo. A cloud of dust obstructed traffic.
In Mironcillo (Ávila), a man was injured after falling while pruning a tree branch. The tree was about to be uprooted by gusts of wind in Mironcillo (Ávila).
In Galicia, one of the hardest-hit regions, a 25-year-old woman suffered minor injuries after a treetop fell on her in Vigo.
Strong winds
The wind force of 205 kilometres per hour at Mirador del Cable is the highest recorded during Kirk. There were also wind speeds of more than 140 kilometres per hour in mountainous or coastal areas, such as 181 kilometres per hour in Lardeira (Orense), 165 km/h in Valdezcaray (La Rioja) or 145 km/h in La Covatilla (Salamanca).
Rubén del Campo, spokesman for the State Bureau of Meteorology (Aemet), explained that “hurricane gusts” are winds of more than 120 kilometres per hour. The maximum wind speed in Spain in 2005 was caused by Tropical Storm Delta. This caused hurricane gusts of up to 248 km/h in the Canary Islands, in Izaña, Tenerife.
Rain in Galicia
On Wednesday, more than 90 litres of rain per square metre fell in Galicia in 12 hours. The heavy rainfall has left a trail of incidents. Most were caused by landslides, overflowing rivers, and roads blocked by falling trees and flooding.
Consequences of Kirk for trains and planes
Kirk caused inconvenience to train passengers and air passengers. Fifty flights have been cancelled in Bilbao, 8,000 passengers have been affected. In Castilla y León, eight people were injured by the storm, 112 Castilla y León reported, with updated data until 8.00 pm, at which time eight people were injured.
New storm possible on Friday
On Friday, a new front, which will be called Berenice, will arrive. This will bring storms in virtually the entire peninsula, from west to east. In the west of Andalucia, Galicia and the north of Extremadura, the storm will be more intense.