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By Adam Woodward • Updated: 10 Oct 2024 • 19:25 • 1 minute read
Storm damage from remainder of Hurricane Kirk. María Pérez, Facebook.
The tail end of Hurricane Kirk knocks northwest Spain for 6 with flash floods, landslides, and some of the strongest winds on record.
What was left of Hurricane Kirk had already turned into a powerful storm as it passed through northwest Spain on Wednesday, October 9, leading to flight reroutes, as well as multiple reports of damage.
Although the red extreme weather warning for Cantabria has now been lifted, another warning for high waves and the risk of surge tides continues in force. The Basque Country also remains on high alert, where on Wednesday 9, five planes destined for Bilbao airport were either rerouted or had to return to their origin due to strong winds making landings in the Basque Country impossible.
In La Coruña province, a school sports hall is reported to have collapsed due to the winds; the roof of a conservatory in Santiago de Compostela flew off, causing multiple damage; and 100s of reports of structural damage to buildings came in from Galicia, Castilla y León, and Cantabria. There have been no reports of personal physical harm so far apart from in Burgos, where some falling tree branches caused minor injuries in the early hours of Wednesday 9.
In Galicia, rivers burst their banks, and according to the local meteorological centre, MeteoGalicia, it was the worst storm they had ever recorded, with over 600 wind and rain damage incidents reported, including floods, roads cut off by falling trees, and landslides. Wind speeds in the Picos de Europa mountain range were the fastest on record, with gales reaching up to 205 kph, equal to the speed of winds when Hurricane Milton hit Tampa in Florida at around the same time.
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