Spain and Portugal on Saturday prepared for another storm approaching the Iberian Peninsula, just days after floods caused by Storm Leonardo claimed at least one life in each country.
The latest weather system, named Storm Marta, has led Portuguese authorities to deploy more than 26,500 rescue workers, News.Az reports, citing AFP.
In Portugal, severe weather conditions have also forced three municipalities to postpone Sunday’s presidential vote until next week.
Both countries issued new warnings over the risk of further flooding, after recent inundations blocked hundreds of roads, disrupted rail services and forced thousands of people to evacuate as water levels rose.
Mario Silvestre, a commander with Portugal’s civil protection agency, said the forecast was “extremely worrying,” according to the Lusa news agency.
His organisation warned that Storm Marta could bring wind gusts of up to 110 kilometres (68 miles) per hour as it reaches the Portuguese coast, along with the risk of landslides and flash floods.
“All the furniture is completely destroyed, the water broke the window, forced the doors open and then burst through the window from the other side,” Francisco Marques, a municipal employee in the central village of Constancia, told AFP.
In Spain, the Socialist prime minister is due to visit rescue teams in Madrid on Saturday.
Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro, who toured affected regions on Friday, said the damage had already exceeded four billion euros ($4.7 billion), based on a preliminary assessment.
Portugal was still struggling to recover from Storm Kristin, which caused five deaths, injured hundreds and left tens of thousands without electricity, when Storm Leonardo struck earlier this week.
Scientists say human-driven climate change is increasing the duration, intensity and frequency of extreme