Storms Elsa and Fabien have wreaked havoc on European countries like Spain, Portugal, Italy, and France. The region faced the fury of 100 mile-per-hour winds accompanied by heavy rain with at least nine deaths reported. The storms led to the flooding of rivers with disruption of the power supply that left thousands of households without electricity. Many trees were uprooted, which in turn, affected Travel by rail, road, and air.
That possibly spoiled the travel plans for many holiday crowds because Christmas and New Year are just around the corner.
Daily Mail UK says storm Elsa struck first. As it weakened and shifted direction towards Britain, it was time for Storm Fabien to take over with wind speeds of around 106 mph. It struck northwestern Spain and resulted in the cancellation of more than a dozen flights. The Spanish airport operator informed about that.
The storms led to at least nine deaths
Spain reported seven deaths and Portugal reported two. The local government went in for rescue work and saved some people but a fisherman was swept off the rocks into the sea.
In Madrid, a woman died when debris fell from a building while a Dutchman drowned as he was windsurfing in the rough weather. The authorities announced the closure of several parks in Madrid City as a precautionary measure in view of the strong winds. Officials notified about the loss of power in thousands of homes in Galicia. It was attributed to wind-induced damage to power lines.
Daily Mail UK looked at the effects of the storms on France. Bordeaux closed many parks and cemeteries and a circus had to cancel some performances. The weather office issued orange alerts in some regions as the storm struck the Atlantic coast. Wind speeds were high and people in France had to endure power failure.
The rail network canceled some services, fearing disruption due to uprooted trees blocking the lines. Airports in Corsica Island are closed and the inclement weather has forced the stoppage of ferry services to the mainland.
Floods are associated with weather
According to The Guardian, European countries are facing storms that have flooded many rivers. There are reports of the loss of at least nine lives and the storms have played havoc with the infrastructure and the environment. Travel in any form by rail, road or air is affected and restoring the damaged infrastructure will be a time-consuming affair as well as a cost-intensive one. Strong winds have uprooted many of the trees and they have fallen on power lines or blocked the roads.
The result is a breakdown of the communication network and misery for the common man. Weather conditions of this nature are treated as natural calamities. People have learned to accept them and most have no choice but to reconcile to the inevitable.