Severe storms in Spain paralyze airport for hours – teenager killed by branch

Created: 2022-11-13 08:06

By: Jennifer Lanzinger

Spain, Valencia: A flooded section of the Eastern Motorway, A-3.

© Jorge Gil/EUROPA PRESS/dpa +++ dpa picture radio +++

Severe storms killed a teenager in Spain on Saturday.

Numerous streets, cellars and underground car parks were flooded.

A school bus got stuck in the water.

Madrid (AP) - Numerous flooded streets, heavy rain, hail and squalls made things difficult for Spain on Saturday.

At least one person died in the severe storms.

The airport in Valencia also had to do without a runway at times.

Many school children got stuck in the water with the school bus.

Severe storms in Spain: teenager is killed by a branch

As the state TV broadcaster RTVE reported on Saturday evening, a 17-year-old was killed by a falling branch in the city of Zaragoza.

At Valencia Airport on the Mediterranean coast, a runway had to be temporarily closed after lightning struck.

At times, air traffic had to be suspended for several hours, and numerous flights were diverted or canceled.

In 24 hours, 149 liters of rain per square meter fell there.

In the town of Xert inland from Castellón, even 300 liters per square meter were measured.

Numerous cellars and underground car parks fill up - the school bus gets stuck in the water

Spanish media reported on Saturday about numerous flooded basements or underground car parks, and many streets were flooded by the storm and heavy rain.

The fire brigade had to rescue many people from their vehicles who had been trapped by the flood.

A school bus also got stuck in the water in Les Alquerías.

Helpers carried the children piggyback to higher ground, as can be seen on a video from the fire brigade.

While severe storms in Spain cause chaotic scenes, the weather in Germany is showing its mild side.

Winter still seems far away.

An expert believes that the big snow won't come anytime soon.