Storm Claudia batters Europe - Deaths reported, evacuations underway
Photo: aftermath of Claudia storm (video screenshot)
Three people have been killed in Portugal due to storm Claudia, while Britain has launched evacuations, according to Reuters.
Rescue workers in Portugal found the bodies of an elderly couple in a flooded home near Lisbon. They likely had no time to escape as the water rose overnight.
Parts of Portugal and neighboring Spain have been dealing with severe weather for several days as Storm Claudia moves across the region. On Saturday, November 15, the storm reached parts of Britain and Ireland.
In Albufeira, on Portugal’s southern coast, an 85-year-old woman died at a campsite, according to Vitor Vaz Pinto, head of the regional civil protection service. Twenty-eight people were injured at a nearby hotel, and two of them remain in the hospital with serious wounds.
Portugal’s president, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, expressed solidarity with the victims’ families and wished the injured a swift recovery.
Flooding in Britain
Severe flooding hit Monmouth and the surrounding areas in southeast Wales on Saturday.
The South Wales Fire and Rescue Service said it is conducting rescue operations, evacuations, and welfare checks.
The Natural Resources Wales agency issued 11 flood warnings, including four for severe flooding, and 17 additional alerts for possible flooding.
In England, the Environment Agency listed 49 active flood warnings and 134 flood alerts.
Hurricane Melissa in Jamaica
Hurricane Melissa struck Jamaica on October 27 with devastating winds reaching 282 km/h. The confirmed death toll has risen to 45, with 15 people still missing.
Meteorologists say Melissa is the third-strongest hurricane on record in the Caribbean, after Wilma (2005) and Gilbert (1988).
Experts note that global warming and rising ocean temperatures are making tropical storms more intense and destructive.
