 "Representative image. File image/Reuters")
Violent weather triggered by Storm Claudia has killed three people and injured dozens in Portugal, authorities said on Saturday, while in Britain rescue teams were carrying out evacuations as heavy flooding swept through Wales and England.
Portugal and parts of Spain have endured several days of extreme weather as Storm Claudia moved across the region, eventually reaching parts of Britain and Ireland by Saturday.
Rescue workers in Portugal discovered the bodies of an elderly couple in their flooded home in Fernao Ferro, across the River Tagus from Lisbon, on Thursday. Officials said the pair had likely been asleep and unable to escape as water rapidly rose during the night.
On Saturday, a tornado hit Albufeira in southern Portugal, emergency services said. Online footage captured from a distance showed the tornado tearing through a caravan park, damaging and destroying several units. Regional civil protection commander Vitor Vaz Pinto said an 85-year-old British woman was killed. He added that 28 people were injured at a nearby hotel, with two of them in serious condition.
President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa expressed “his solidarity with the family of the victim who died” in Albufeira and wished a swift recovery to all those injured.
Portugal’s weather agency, IPMA, placed the entire Algarve along with the districts of Beja and Setubal under an amber alert, its second-highest warning level.
Storm Claudia floods Wales and England
In Britain, severe flooding hit the town of Monmouth and nearby areas in southeast Wales on Saturday. The South Wales Fire and Rescue Service said it was carrying out rescues, evacuations and welfare checks.
“Storm Claudia has caused significant flooding in parts of Wales overnight, which continues to affect homes, businesses, transport and energy infrastructure,” a Welsh government spokesperson said.
Aerial footage showed extensive flooding in Monmouth, with water submerging the town centre and residential neighbourhoods after a nearby river burst its banks.
Natural Resources Wales issued 11 flood warnings—four of them severe—along with 17 flood alerts. In England, the Environment Agency reported 49 active flood warnings and 134 flood alerts.