Portugal is hit by a winter storm for the third time in a week and a half.Image: keystone
Portugal, which has already been hit hard by three winter storms, has prepared for further storms with flooding caused by heavy rain. From Sunday evening, an Atlantic low will bring stormy winds and high waves to the coasts in addition to heavy rainfall, which could turn into snow at higher altitudes, warned the national weather service Ipma.
And another rain front was expected for Tuesday evening. The authorities called on people to bring their belongings, cars and livestock to safety in a timely manner from low-lying areas along rivers and near reservoirs. Flooding was expected particularly along the Mondego, Douro, Águeda and Tejo rivers.
The storm destroyed a factory building in the Figueria da Foz region.Image: keystone
The meteorologists are particularly concerned that the soil is already very saturated with the precipitation from previous storms and can hardly absorb any additional amounts of water. This increases the risk of landslides. In addition, dams are already full to the brim and have to release water for safety reasons, which could lead to further flooding, reported the state TV channel RTP.
In the past ten days, three severe storms had already swept across Portugal. By far the most devastating was the storm “Kristin,” which hit the center of the country last Wednesday and caused severe devastation. Wind speeds of more than 200 kilometers per hour were measured, which is usually observed in tropical cyclones in other regions of the world.
At least five people were killed and hundreds of thousands of households were temporarily without power or internet. Traffic was severely affected by fallen trees, flooding and landslides. Thousands of roofs were damaged, allowing rainwater to enter buildings unhindered.
Winter storm Kirstin swept across mainland Portugal at speeds of up to 200 kilometers per hour.Image: keystone
On Sunday, 180,000 households and businesses were still without power, and in many places telephone and internet connections were not yet working again. A state of emergency was declared for around 60 communities in order to enable faster help.
From Portugal, the Atlantic storm lows move further east to Spain, where they could cause wet, cold and uncomfortable winter weather. On Mallorca, the Germans’ favorite holiday island, the sun mostly shone on Sunday with pleasant temperatures of up to 16 degrees. But according to the national weather service Aemet, there could be showers there again next week. And on some beaches and harbor piers there was still a danger from high waves. (sda/dpa)
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