Three killed in Portugal, dozens rescued or evacuated in Wales as Storm Claudia unleashes chaos across UK, Ireland and Portugal
Dozens of people were rescued or evacuated from homes in Wales after a river overflowed and swamped the town of Monmouth during heavy rains from Storm Claudia that drenched parts of the UK and Ireland.
Aerial footage showed roads under muddy brown water, submerged cars and businesses along its main street flooded after the River Monnow rose to a record level and spilled over its banks.
Nearly 12 centimetres of rain fell in south-east Wales overnight and there was also some flooding in England from the storm that brought damaging winds that downed trees. Several rail lines were disrupted by high water or toppled trees.
People wade through a flooded street in Monmouth, Wales. (Christopher Furlong/Getty Images))
“I personally haven’t seen it so bad for probably 40 years,” since flood defences were put in place for Monmouth, said Peter Fox, a Conservative member of the Welsh Parliament.
The centre of the town near the border of England is just upstream of where the Monnow joins the River Wye, the fourth-largest river in the UK.
Some 50 flood warnings were still in place across England on Saturday afternoon local time as a cold spell was expected to bring subfreezing temperatures to parts of the UK in coming days.
Flooding was also reported in Portarlington, Ireland, and further damage was possible with some rivers not yet reaching their peaks.
The high winds also knocked out power to thousands of homes and businesses and trees blocked roads.
A view of the destruction caused by a severe weather system at a camping site in Albufeira, in southern Portugal’s Algarve region. (AP)
Storm Claudia kills three in Portugal
Portugal and some parts of Spain have been hammered by extreme weather brought on by the storm.
Three people were killed and dozens have been injured after Storm Claudia brought violent weather to Portgual, authorities said.
Rescue workers recovered the bodies of an elderly couple in their home in Fernao Ferro in Lisbon.
Three people were killed and dozens have been injured after Storm Claudia brought violent weather to Portgua (AP Photo/Joao Matos)
An 85-year-old British woman was also killed when a tornado destroyed caravans at a camping area near Albufeira in southern Portugal, regional civil protection commander Vitor Vaz Pinto said.
Twenty-eight people were also injured at a nearby hotel, he said.
Portuguese weather service IPMA placed the entire Algarve and districts of Beja and Setubal on an amber alert, which is its second-highest alert level.
