Storm Ciarán, of Atlantic origin and one of the most powerful extratropical cyclones of recent times, wreaked havoc in northwestern Europe yesterday and 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 took 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 died. 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 fatal incidents, except for the person who fell from the balcony in France, had as their common denominator the fall of trees and branches. The storm also tore roofs off buildings, blocked transport networks and cut off the electricity supply to more than a million people.
In Spain, the storm left one person dead in Madrid, a 23-year-old woman who was struck by a tree when she was walking (around 1 p.m.) near number 2 Almagro Street. Five other people were slightly injured in the same incident. In Almeria, two women were injured, one of them seriously, after they were affected by the fall of a palm tree on the canopy of a bus stop in Ribera de las Almadrabillas, near the port of the capital, where strong gusts of wind exceeded 90 km/h. Also in Almeria, a construction worker was seriously injured after falling from an undetermined height when he was on a construction site due to the strong wind.
The storm caused the cancellation of more than 80 flights at the airports of Madrid, Bilbao, San Sebastian, Asturias, Vigo, A Coruña, Santander, Barcelona, Valencia and Almeria. According to the data updated by Aena up to 7.30 p.m., there were 40 cancellations in Madrid (and one diversion to Alicante due to crosswinds); in Bilbao, 13; in A Coruña, six (and a detour in Barcelona); in Valencia, five (and seven diversions); in Barcelona, four; in San Sebastian, four; in Asturias, three; in Vigo, two (plus one detour); in Almeria, two; in Santander, two more, and a detour to Ibiza.
With regard to the railway service, and as reported by Renfe with data up to 5 p.m., in Galicia traffic was interrupted between Ourense and Vigo and Ourense and Santiago de Compostela, as well as suburban and medium-distance services from metric width between Ferrol and Oviedo (Asturias).
In Cantabria, on the Reinosa-Torrelavega route, the section from Reinosa to Bárcena was deleted; in Asturias, traffic was interrupted in Pravia and Cudillero due to metric gauge, while in the Basque Country there was no medium-distance train service Bilbao-Santander and Bilbao-Leon. The Madrid-Barcelona high-speed line was also affected, although it only had speed limitations.
In the eastern area, the Valencia suburban service between Bunyol and Utiel (line C3) was interrupted, and the medium-distance service between Alcoi-Xàtiva and Sogorb i Terol stations.
The storm also caused incidents on the suburban lines of Madrid, where traffic was interrupted between Puerto de Navacerrada and Cotos. Trains on the C3 line in the center of Madrid gradually recovered the usual frequency of passage once the tree that had fallen on the infrastructure was removed.
In France, one of the countries hardest hit by the storm, Ciarán left a category 3 hurricane and caused (in addition to the two dead) 16 injured, more than 1,300 displaced, 1.2 million homes without electricity and problems in transport.
The storm has been the most virulent to have affected the French region of Brittany since 1987, with numerous record winds, reaching over 200 km/h.
In England, around 9,000 people were left without power in Cornwall, Devon and Surrey.
