Storm Charles Grounds Over 238 Flights, Shuts Schools Across Portugal
(MENAFN) Storm Charles forced Portugal to shut down schools and scrap hundreds of flights on Wednesday as it bore down on the mainland, hours after pummeling the Atlantic island of Madeira with torrential rain and ferocious winds.
The government placed mainland Portugal under an alert that ran until midnight, closing schools and nonessential public services, a Portuguese daily newspaper reported.
At least 222 flights into and out of Lisbon and Faro airports were canceled Wednesday morning, a national news agency reported. A further 16 flights were scrubbed at Madeira Airport.
The national weather agency IPMA eased wind warnings for Lisbon, Setubal and Beja from red to orange Wednesday morning, after the storm split into two centers and lost some of its expected force. Red warnings for heavy rainfall nonetheless stayed in place across parts of central and southern Portugal.
Emergency authorities logged 60 weather-related incidents on the mainland between midnight and early Wednesday, most of them floods. Greater Lisbon and the Setubal Peninsula took the brunt of it.
Cars were left partly underwater near Lisbon’s Oriente station, and power distributor E-Redes said roughly 2,000 customers had lost electricity.
The Portuguese Environment Agency warned that 101 municipalities faced the threat of urban flooding. Authorities urged residents to avoid unnecessary travel and keep clear of waterways, wooded areas and exposed stretches of coastline. Eighteen harbor entrances were shut to maritime traffic Wednesday morning.
Madeira hit overnight
On Madeira, gusts topped 130 kilometers (80 miles) per hour, and highland areas received more than 240 millimeters (9.4 inches) of rain in just six hours, according to IPMA.
Emergency services responded to 137 incidents overnight, including floods, toppled trees and rockfalls blocking roads.
An 80-year-old man feared swept away by floodwaters was found safe Wednesday morning in a flooded garage.
Access roads into central Funchal reopened after a precautionary closure of about 90 minutes, though authorities cautioned that more flooding and falling debris remained possible.
Spain also on alert
In neighboring Spain, roughly 3,000 residents of Piedralaves in Avila province stayed evacuated Wednesday amid fears that the Horcajo dam might not hold against the expected downpours.
Red alerts for heavy rain stayed in force through the end of the day in parts of the Extremadura region and Avila province. Orange alerts for heavy rain and strong winds covered large areas of southern and eastern Spain.
The government placed mainland Portugal under an alert that ran until midnight, closing schools and nonessential public services, a Portuguese daily newspaper reported.
At least 222 flights into and out of Lisbon and Faro airports were canceled Wednesday morning, a national news agency reported. A further 16 flights were scrubbed at Madeira Airport.
The national weather agency IPMA eased wind warnings for Lisbon, Setubal and Beja from red to orange Wednesday morning, after the storm split into two centers and lost some of its expected force. Red warnings for heavy rainfall nonetheless stayed in place across parts of central and southern Portugal.
Emergency authorities logged 60 weather-related incidents on the mainland between midnight and early Wednesday, most of them floods. Greater Lisbon and the Setubal Peninsula took the brunt of it.
Cars were left partly underwater near Lisbon’s Oriente station, and power distributor E-Redes said roughly 2,000 customers had lost electricity.
The Portuguese Environment Agency warned that 101 municipalities faced the threat of urban flooding. Authorities urged residents to avoid unnecessary travel and keep clear of waterways, wooded areas and exposed stretches of coastline. Eighteen harbor entrances were shut to maritime traffic Wednesday morning.
Madeira hit overnight
On Madeira, gusts topped 130 kilometers (80 miles) per hour, and highland areas received more than 240 millimeters (9.4 inches) of rain in just six hours, according to IPMA.
Emergency services responded to 137 incidents overnight, including floods, toppled trees and rockfalls blocking roads.
An 80-year-old man feared swept away by floodwaters was found safe Wednesday morning in a flooded garage.
Access roads into central Funchal reopened after a precautionary closure of about 90 minutes, though authorities cautioned that more flooding and falling debris remained possible.
Spain also on alert
In neighboring Spain, roughly 3,000 residents of Piedralaves in Avila province stayed evacuated Wednesday amid fears that the Horcajo dam might not hold against the expected downpours.
Red alerts for heavy rain stayed in force through the end of the day in parts of the Extremadura region and Avila province. Orange alerts for heavy rain and strong winds covered large areas of southern and eastern Spain.
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