The storm Ciarán, of Atlantic origin and one of the most powerful extratropical cyclones in recent times, has wreaked havoc in northwest Europe and has claimed the lives of at least seven people (one of them, in Spain) due to the fall of trees due to strong winds. Belgium and France have taken the worst part in this fateful statistic, with two deaths each. In the first, a 5-year-old boy and a 64-year-old German tourist perished. In the second, a truck driver (in the Aisne department) and a 70-year-old man who fell from a balcony due to strong gusts of wind in Le Havre.
In Germany, a 46-year-old woman died, and in the Netherlands, a 59-year-old man. All incidents that caused fatalities, except for the person who fell from the balcony in France, had falling trees and branches as a common denominator. The storm also tore roofs off buildings, blocked transportation networks and caused power outages for more than a million people.
In Spain, the storm has left one person dead in Madrid, a 23-year-old girl who had a tree fall on her while she was walking (around 1 p.m.) near number 2 Almagro Street. Five other people were slightly injured in the same incident. In Almería, two women were injured, one of them seriously, after they were affected by a palm tree falling on the bus stop shelter in the Ribera de las Almadrabillas, near the capital's port, where the strong gusts of wind exceeded 90 km/h. Also in Almería, a construction worker was seriously injured after falling from an undetermined height when he was on a construction site due to strong wind.
The storm has caused the cancellation of more than 80 flights at the airports of Madrid, Bilbao, San Sebastián, Asturias, Vigo, La Coruña, Santander, Barcelona, Valencia, and Almería. According to data updated by the airport manager Aena until 7:30 p.m., there have been 40 cancellations in Madrid (and a detour to Alicante due to crosswinds); in Bilbao, 13; in La Coruña, six (and a detour to Barcelona); in Valencia, five (and seven detours); in Barcelona, four; in San Sebastián, four; in Asturias, three; in Vigo, two (plus a detour); in Almería, two; in Santander, two others and a detour in Ibiza.
With regard to the rail service, and as reported by Renfe with data until 5 p.m., in Galicia, circulation has been interrupted between Ourense and Vigo and Ourense and Santiago de Compostela, as well as suburban and medium-distance metric-gauge services between Ferrol and Oviedo (Asturias).
In Cantabria, on the Reinosa-Torrelavega route, the section from Reinosa to Bárcena has been eliminated; In Asturias, circulation was interrupted in Pravia and Cudillero due to metric gauge, while in the Basque Country the Bilbao-Santander and Bilbao-León medium-distance trains did not provide service. The Madrid-Barcelona high-speed line was also affected, although it only presented speed limitations.
In the eastern area, the commuter service in Valencia between Buñol and Utiel (line C3), and the medium distance service between the stations of Alcoy-Xátiva and Segorbe and Teruel, was interrupted.
The storm also caused incidents in nearby Madrid, where traffic between Puerto de Navacerrada and Cotos was interrupted. The trains on line C3 in the center of Madrid gradually recovered their usual frequency once the tree that had fallen on the infrastructure was removed.
In Galicia, and until 6 p.m. this Thursday, at least 1,265 incidents had been recorded due to the storm. The majority were concentrated in the two Atlantic provinces, Pontevedra (461) and A Coruña (444), although 220 have also been counted in Lugo and 133 in Ourense.
In France, one of the countries hardest hit by the storm, Ciarán left gusts of Category 3 hurricane, causing (in addition to the two people killed) 16 injured, more than 1,300 displaced, 1.2 million homes without electricity and problems in transport.
The storm has been the most virulent that has affected the French region of Brittany since 1987, with numerous wind records, which have exceeded the bar of 200 km/h.
Hundreds of schools have canceled their classes this Thursday in the south of England, while the authorities have chosen to paralyze train services in the most at-risk areas and have even asked in the western part to avoid roads that pass through areas. Coast. In Cornwall, Devon and Surrey, around 9,000 people have been left without power, according to the BBC.
