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WATCH: Storm Kirk devastates Spain with thousands of incidents and serious injuries
Northern Spain in particular was battered by hurricane-force gusts of up to 205 kilometres per hour
Despite having lost hurricane status and being downgraded to a storm before it reached Spain, Kirk ripped through the country on Wednesday October 9 leaving a wave of destruction in its wake. Thousands of incidents and accidents were reported, the majority in the north, and at least 9 people have been injured.
Planes were diverted, trains were derailed and countless roads were cut off due to downed trees and flooding rivers. Incredible footage has emerged from around the country of the devastation caused by Storm Kirk which, while short-lived, has been particularly brutal.
Pontevedra 7:00 AM. Ciclón Extratropical EX-Kirk 💨💨💨#kirk pic.twitter.com/JZWoemWQgx
— Beniheart (@BeniG77) October 9, 2024
The most serious problems on Wednesday were caused by the wind, which reached an unbelievable 205 kilometres per hour in Mirador del Cable in Cantabria. Wind speeds above 140 km/hr were widely recorded in coastal and mountainous areas: 181 kilometres per hour in Lardeira (Orense), 165 km/hr in Valdezcaray (La Rioja) and 145 km/h in La Covatilla (Salamanca).
Rubén del Campo, spokesperson for the State Meteorological Agency (Aemet), explained that “hurricane force gusts” are those that exceed 120 kilometres per hour. The maximum wind speed in Spain was recorded in 2005 by tropical storm Delta, which caused widespread hurricane force gusts in the Canary Islands, reaching 248 km/h in Izaña, Tenerife.
Eight people suffered injuries in Castilla y León as a result of Storm Kirk, most of which were caused by falling trees and collapsing buildings. The ninth and last injury occurred in Galicia, when a large branch fell on top of a 25-year-old woman.
Heavy rainfall also left a trail of incidents, most of which are associated with landslides, overflowing rivers and roads cut off by falling trees and flooding.Aemet maintained weather warnings throughout the day in most of the country, red for extreme danger due to winds in mountain areas of Cantabria and orange in coastal areas of the Cantabrian Sea.
As for transport, Kirk has left train passengers stranded for several hours in Palencia due to falling obstacles on the track and the gale-force winds caused chaos at Bilbao Airport, where fifty flights were cancelled, affecting 8,000 passengers.
Of all the shocking footage, some of the most striking has emerged from Berria in Cantabria, where one resident caught on film the moment huge scaffolding collapsed down the front of a high-rise building.
🌪️ Susto de Kirk a su paso por Berria 🏢
— Postureo Cántabro 💢 Presume de Cantabria (@Postureo_CANT) October 9, 2024
📍 Santoña (Cantabria) pic.twitter.com/7uJteuHCxE
In Pontevedra, locals ventured out early on Thursday morning to survey the damage and were shocked to find the dead body of a 15-metre whale on Pampaído beach. The 20 tonne whale was reportedly spotted alive and well the day before.
A mere 24 hours later, calm has been restored across Spain, but Aemet has already forecast yet another Atlantic front that is due to hit the country on Friday October 11.
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Images: Tendencias de España on X
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