A severe storm, "Claudia," has killed three people and injured dozens more in Portugal. Meanwhile, in the UK, rescuers organized evacuations due to severe flooding in Wales and England. This is reported by Reuters, writes UNN.
Details
Portugal and part of neighboring Spain have been suffering from extreme weather conditions for several days, caused by storm "Claudia," which also reached parts of Britain and Ireland on Saturday.
Rescuers found the bodies of an elderly couple in their flooded home in Fernão Ferro, across the Tagus River from Lisbon, on Thursday. They were likely asleep and unable to escape when water levels rose overnight.
On Saturday, a tornado occurred in southern Portugal, in Albufeira, emergency services reported.
Videos published online, filmed from a distance, show the tornado damaging and destroying mobile homes in a campsite. Regional civil defense chief Vítor Vaz Pinto reported that an 85-year-old British citizen died.
Nearby, 28 people were injured at a hotel, two of whom are in the hospital with serious injuries, he added.
In a statement on Saturday, Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa expressed "solidarity with the family of the deceased" in Albufeira and wished a speedy recovery to the injured.
The Portuguese meteorological service IPMA has issued an amber alert — the second most serious — for the entire Algarve region and the districts of Beja and Setúbal.
Storm "Claudia" caused floods in Wales and England
In the UK, severe flooding hit the town of Monmouth and surrounding areas in southeast Wales on Saturday.
South Wales Fire and Rescue Service said it was conducting rescue operations, evacuations and welfare checks.
"Storm 'Claudia' has caused significant flooding in parts of Wales overnight, which continues to impact homes, businesses, transport and energy infrastructure," a Welsh government spokesperson said.
Aerial footage showed extensive flooding in Monmouth: water inundated the town center and residential areas after river banks burst nearby overnight.
Natural Resources Wales has issued 11 flood warnings, four of which are severe, and 17 flood alerts.
In England, according to the latest update from the Environment Agency, there were 49 flood warnings and 134 alerts in effect.