A powerful storm, the remnants of Hurricane Kirk, swept through Portugal, Spain, and France, leaving at least one person dead and causing widespread damage. The storm brought heavy rains, high winds, and flooding that left thousands without power and disrupted transportation. Hurricanes and extreme weather events like this are becoming more frequent due to climate change, underscoring the need for preparedness and adaptation measures.

Destruction In The Pathway Of Cyclone Kirk

What is left of Hurricane Kirk, Storm Kirk swept into western Europe on Wednesday, played havoc with the weather. It made its way to Portugal and Spain where it killed two, uprooted thousands of trees, knocked down power lines cutting electricity to hundreds of thousands of household.

In France storm damage was especially bad. On the Mediterranean, off the port city of Sete, a storm surge overturned three boats in a regatta, killing one amateur sailor and seriously injuring another. The strong winds and torrential rains also cut electricity to 64,000 people in the south of France while several departments reported roads were impassable after flooding.

Action of the Government and Concerns Of Climate Change

Fearful of the growing crisis the French government responded by convening an emergency meeting and deploying all state services to deal with the situation. Climate change will result in more frequent extreme weather, Agnes Pannier-Runacher added: “The episodes are going to multiply. We are living in an age when climate change is manifesting itself in real ways to the everyday lives of the people.

The Seine-et-Marne department near Paris was placed on red alert with authorities also putting several other departments on flood alert as the Grand Morin river, a tributary of the Seine, swelled further due in part to heavy rain.

Chaos, Devastation Swept Region

Storm Kirk also brought chaos elsewhere in the region, with Portugal and Spain experiencing severe disruption. The civil protection authority in Portugal said it received more than 1,300 incidents to be evaluated and dealt with by mid-afternoon, most of them fallen trees, the most serious happening in Porto where 400 were uprooted.

Regions in northern and northwestern Spain were also placed on orange alert due to winds of up to 140 kilometers per hour, the state weather agency said. Roads were reported to be blocked by mudslides and trees, even in urban areas such as Galicia in the northwest.