An episode of intense wind, which some witnesses described as a tornado, devastated a campsite this Saturday and damaged a tourist complex in Albufeira, a town in the Portuguese Algarve, causing the death of an 85-year-old British woman and injuring 28 people, two of whom are in serious condition, as confirmed by the regional commander of Civil Protection, Vítor Vaz Pinto.
“Where the phenomenon occurred, the damage was considerable, taking into account that the campsite is full of campers, which are fragile structures,” said Vaz Pinto. Among the injured there are some Spaniards, although the regional head of Civil Protection did not specify the number.
The meteorological phenomenon, associated with the thunderstorm Claudiawhich has been affecting the Iberian peninsula for several days, occurred around ten in the morning this Saturday. The Algarve, where nearly 400 accidents were recorded due to the storm, was one of the hardest-hit regions, along with the Lisbon metropolitan area and the Setúbal peninsula. Although the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and Atmosphere is still evaluating whether it can be classified as a tornado or mini-tornado, wind gusts of up to 112 kilometers per hour were recorded at some measurement points.
With this latest death, the number of victims caused by the storm as it passed through Portugal rises to three. An 88-year-old couple died on Thursday in their home in the city of Seixal due to a sudden flood in their home, on the ground floor located in an undeveloped area. The elderly did not have time to activate the emergency device to alert them of their situation.
Since the storm’s arrival last Wednesday, Portugal has recorded nearly 3,400 accidents as of Saturday. According to the National Authority for Emergency and Civil Protection, the main cause is flooding and falling trees. A storm forced a plane from the national airline TAP to return to Lisbon’s Humberto Delgado airport shortly after take-off after being struck by lightning which struck one of the engines.
Four districts of the country (Faro, Setúbal, Beja and Braga) remained under orange alert this Saturday due to risks associated with persistent rain and thunderstorms. “There is a very high degree of unpredictability, we know that we are in this depression situation, but not if there may be specific phenomena or where they will influence,” said the regional commander of the Algarve Civil Protection, alluding to the extreme wind episode that destroyed the Albufeira campsite.
From Sunday an improvement is expected across the country, but the traces remain Claudia It will be persistent due to the numerous damages caused by floods of water and mud and by the wind.
