Intense floods and major snowfall: At least 4 killed as Storm Gloria batters Spain with nature’s fury (VIDEOS)

21 Jan, 2020 12:00 / Updated 5 years ago

Storm Gloria has claimed at least four lives since Sunday, after ravaging much of eastern Spain with strong winds, colossal waves and heavy snowfall.

Alicante Airport was shut down for a time, disrupting over 200 flights as Spain's Mediterranean coast and Balearic Islands bore the brunt of the storm, which is now headed north towards southern France.

Eight-meter-high waves crashed into ports in Valencia on Monday. On the Majorcan islet of Dragonera, waves reportedly reached up to 14 meters.

Two people died from hypothermia near Valencia on Monday, while a man in Avila was killed by falling roof tiles torn out by strong winds. In Asturias, a man was struck and killed by a vehicle as he was fixing his snow tires during blizzard-like conditions.

The Catalan government temporarily banned outdoor activities in Girona and Barcelona in the interests of public safety. Wind speeds reached 115 kph in parts for a time on Monday, and schools and public services were suspended.

Parts of Aragon, Catalonia, Murcia and Valencia have been blanketed by between 20 and 40cm of snow, amid warnings of "very strong" wind gusts in excess of 100kph. Spain's civil protection agency has received some 5,056 emergency calls regarding Storm Gloria-related incidents as of Tuesday morning.

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