Storm Charles made landfall on the Iberian Peninsula on Wednesday, flooding parts of Madeira and mainland Portugal, as Spain issued a red warning for extreme rain and authorities closed schools and shut road tunnels.
Madeira takes the first hit
Madeira’s regional civil protection service logged 137 weather-related incidents, most of them flooding, between 8pm on Tuesday and 6:30am on Wednesday, with no injuries or deaths, regional commander Valter Ferreira told the Lusa news agency. The storm produced wind gusts of 130 kilometres per hour and six-hour rainfall that topped 240 millimetres in the island’s highlands as it exited around 6am.
All schools, nurseries, day centres, sports halls and the University of Madeira were closed until 1pm on Wednesday, non-urgent hospital appointments were cancelled, and Madeira’s courts were closed all day. The Porto Santo ferry line cancelled Wednesday sailings.
Portugal counts the damage
Mainland Portugal logged 70 weather incidents as of 7am on Wednesday, including floods and fallen trees, none rated significant, the civil protection authority said. A separate tally put Tuesday’s total at 1,240 incidents, mostly in the greater Lisbon area: 743 floods, 190 fallen trees, 176 collapsed structures, 90 road-clearing operations and 40 landslides, with more than 4,000 personnel deployed and no casualties reported.
Spain on red alert
Spain’s national weather agency, AEMET, issued a red warning for extreme rain over Norte de Caceres in western Spain, running from 8am to just before midnight and forecasting 120 millimetres of rain in twelve hours. AEMET warned of extreme or catastrophic damage to people and property, especially in exposed or vulnerable areas, and advised only essential travel.
Wednesday is expected to be the most severe day of the storm, with rainfall locally exceeding 300 millimetres across the whole event in fire-affected areas of the Central System, where landslides are possible. The US State Department issued a travel alert for Portugal, warning of flash floods and winds of up to 140 km/h.
Related reading: Storm Charles: Portugal and Spain Under Orange Warnings for 120km/h Winds
