A severe storm, identified as Storm Nils, has swept across western France, causing widespread power outages and a tragic fatality. Approximately 900,000 homes were left without electricity following the tempest’s passage.
Winds of remarkable intensity were recorded, reaching speeds of 162 kilometers per hour (100 mph) near France’s southwest coast. The severity of the weather necessitated the closure of several Alpine ski resorts in the eastern part of the country, including La Plagne, due to an elevated risk of avalanches.
Devastation in Portugal and Spain
The Iberian Peninsula also bore the brunt of the adverse weather. In Portugal, a critical section of the A1 motorway, a major artery connecting Lisbon and Porto, collapsed. This structural failure occurred when the Mondego River overflowed its banks in the vicinity of Coimbra.
Spain experienced considerable disruption to its transportation networks. In Catalonia, located in the northeast, schools were suspended as a precautionary measure. The Basque country, on the northwest coast, was placed on red alert due to the threat of waves reaching heights of up to 10 meters (32 feet). Further south, in Alicante, wind speeds of 148 km/h were documented.
Accidents and Emergencies
The storms resulted in multiple injuries across Spain. In the Barcelona metropolitan area, four workers sustained injuries while engaged in clearing fallen trees. A pedestrian was also hurt when a wall gave way. Flights at Barcelona’s El Prat airport were significantly affected, with numerous cancellations.
A dramatic rescue operation unfolded near the western town of Cáceres, where a woman had to be extricated after her car plunged into a sinkhole that appeared on a road. The sinkhole’s formation was a direct consequence of the intense rainfall.
Infrastructure Collapses and Economic Impact
Returning to Portugal, the collapse of a 10-meter section of the A1 motorway near Casais do Campo followed the Mondego River’s breaching of its banks, which also inundated a local dyke. This particular stretch of the motorway had already been closed prior to its collapse.
Miguel Pinto Luz, the Infrastructure Minister, visited the site and indicated that repairs to the damaged roadway would likely take several weeks. This incident highlights the sustained impact of the poor weather conditions, which have been affecting Portugal for an extended period, straining its infrastructure.
The Portuguese government reported that within the current week alone, the country received 20% of its average annual rainfall. Maria Graça Carvalho, speaking to Portuguese media, noted that since the beginning of January, the volume of water discharged from dams and reservoirs had been equivalent to approximately one year’s worth of the nation’s water consumption.
Authorities are closely monitoring the River Tagus, where, as of Thursday morning, the water flow from three dams was measured at 6,500 cubic meters per second. The ongoing crisis led to the resignation of Interior Minister Maria Lucia Amaral earlier in the week, following criticism of her response to the escalating situation, which has resulted in multiple fatalities and extensive damage estimated in the billions of euros.
The extreme weather events are not unprecedented. Prior to Storm Nils, Portugal had already experienced Storm Kristin, Storm Leonardo, and Storm Marta. While winter storms are a seasonal occurrence, an increasing frequency and intensity of extreme weather phenomena on the Iberian Peninsula are being linked by scientists to climate change and rising greenhouse gas emissions.
France Under Red Alerts
In France, red alerts were issued across several regions in the southwest, south, and southeast. The Aude region, in the south, reported 40 impassable roads, compounded by gales reaching speeds of up to 110 km/h. Philippe Tabarot, the Transport Minister, offered his condolences to the lorry driver who died in the Landes region. He urged the public to “exercise utmost caution when travelling and check with their transport operator before any journey.”
French media reported that the fatal incident involved a tree falling onto the driver’s vehicle, with a branch penetrating the windscreen. In another incident near Castelsarrasin, north of Toulouse, a worker sustained serious injuries when a tree fell onto his vehicle.