Heavy rain and gale-force winds battered Portugal and Spain on Thursday, toppling trees, disrupting transport and closing schools as authorities warned of more dangerous weather to come. A motorway viaduct partially collapsed near the Portuguese city of Coimbra, while Spain placed its northern coast under the highest red alert as seas built to 9 meters amid Storm Nils.
Portugal’s infrastructure minister, Miguel Pinto Luz, who visited the fallen span between Lisbon and Porto, called the scene “an absolutely abnormal situation.” No injuries were reported, he said, but it could take weeks to restore the viaduct to service. About 15 trucks loaded with loose stone and rubble were brought in to reinforce the breach and slow further erosion.
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The extreme weather follows weeks of deadly storms that have pounded Portugal, damaging roads and railways and leaving crews racing to stabilize slopes and drain flooded areas. Near Abrantes, a train derailed after striking debris swept onto the tracks; no one was hurt, but several rail lines remain suspended.
Officials warned of renewed flash floods as an “atmospheric river” — a fast-moving corridor of tropical moisture — dumped heavy rain, especially across the country’s north. The Portuguese Institute of the Sea and the Atmosphere (IPMA) added that Storm Oriana, a separate Atlantic system, was not expected to strike the mainland directly but would fuel widespread rain and strong winds today and tomorrow.
“In just these two days, the rainfall has been equivalent to 20% of Portugal’s average annual rainfall,” Environment Minister Maria da Graca Carvalho said, underscoring the scale of the deluge.
The government’s response remains under scrutiny. Interior Minister Maria Lucia Amaral resigned earlier this week under criticism and was replaced by Pinto Luz. Ministers are due to face questioning in parliament on Friday over crisis management and preparedness as storms Kristin, Leonardo and Marta — all extra-tropical cyclones — gave way to the latest onslaught.
Across the border in Spain, authorities raised the red alert — the country’s highest — for the northern regions of Galicia, Cantabria and the Basque Country as Storm Nils drove violent seas and damaging winds. Weather agency AEMET warned of waves up to 9 meters and hazardous coastal conditions.
In Catalonia, at least five people were injured, one seriously, according to the region’s interior department chief, Nuria Parlon. With wind gusts surpassing 105 km/h, officials closed schools, suspended sporting events and curtailed non-essential health services. Civil protection sent a mobile emergency alert advising residents to stay indoors and avoid unnecessary travel as fallen trees and debris snarled road and rail traffic.
Both countries remain on high alert as saturated soils raise the risk of further landslides, road washouts and rapid river rises. Emergency services urged people to keep clear of coastal promenades and riverbanks, monitor official advisories and prepare for potential power cuts and transport delays.
The Iberian Peninsula, on Europe’s climate front line, has swung between punishing drought, record heatwaves and episodes of extreme rainfall in recent years. Scientists say a warming atmosphere can intensify both drought and downpours by loading more moisture into storm systems — a trend that is increasingly testing infrastructure built for a milder past.
For now, the focus remains on immediate safety: reinforcing vulnerable structures, restoring critical road and rail links and keeping residents out of harm’s way as another round of wind and rain sweeps across the region.
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
