Storm ‘Aline’ causes flooding, wind gusts and delays in Spain

by Lorraine Williamson
storm Aline in Spain

Storm ‘Aline’, which on Thursday endangered all autonomous communities except the Basque Country, Asturias, the Canary Islands and the autonomous city of Melilla, has caused hundreds of incidents in different parts of Spain due to heavy rain and strong winds.  

Especially in Galicia where 112 reported 369 incidents caused by heavy rain and wind between since noon on Wednesday. 131 of those incidents were caused by trees and branches. There were also many reports of flooding, water on roads and flooding in houses.  

Madrid 

In Madrid, firefighters carried out 50 interventions on Thursday due to heavy rain. Furthermore, the city council closed the Retiro and nine other parks in the city from 3.00 pm to 6.00 pm. This was due to code red for strong gusts of wind declared by the State Agency (Aemet). Madrid also saw water forming on roads. At kilometre post 10 on the M-406, in Getafe the road was closed in both directions. 

None of the interventions Wednesday were serious and no one was injured, a spokesman for the capital’s emergency services told Spanish newspaper Europa Press.  

Cáceres 

Cáceres city council has decided to postpone the tenth edition of the Urban Culture Festival and the FoodTrucks event. These were due to take place this weekend at the Balbos Forum and Padre Pacifico Park respectively. This is due to the wind and rain forecast. The decision was taken in consultation with the various organisations and companies, jointly. Storm “Aline” caused many downed trees and branches in this province, as well as flooding. In addition, firefighters evacuated a school in Montánchez (Cáceres) and rescued a woman in a car in Navalmoral from the storm. In the city of Cáceres, 42.8 litres per square metre have fallen in just six hours.  

Castilla-La Mancha 

In Castilla-LaMancha, most incidents took place in the province of Toledo due to the accumulation of rain and strong gusts of wind. Toledo province recorded a total of 86 of the 103 incidents reported by the service. 

Cogesa Expats

Seville and Tarifa, Andalucia 

The strong gusts of wind and rain that battered the country yesterday also caused more than 300 incidents in Seville. Main causes were falling branches and even the toppling of whole trees.  

In Tarifa, the storm, which affects coastal phenomena due to strong winds and rain predicted in the Strait of Gibraltar area, caused two boat departures scheduled for Thursday morning from the port to Tangier (Morocco) to be cancelled.  

San Sebastian 

The municipality of San Sebastian informed that parks in the city will be closed on Friday and Saturday. This is due to the yellow warning and orange alert for wind. In addition, the Paseo Nuevo will be closed to traffic due to code yellow for wave action. 

Barcelona 

The Barcelona City Council has activated the Municipal Basic Emergency Plan for bad weather at sea due to the weather forecast and the increase in the height of waves. This plan is activated in the alert phase when there is a warning of rough seas, when there could be “with high probability” waves over 2.5 metres and the city’s coastline suffers from the effects of the sea, which can be dangerous for people and furniture.  

In Barcelona, citizens have been advised to be more careful and avoid going to the beach. They are reminded of the ban on entering breakwaters and entering the water while the red flag is flying – which is present on all beaches – and for this reason, the Guardia Urbana has been deployed along Barcelona’s coastline. 

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