The wind leaves thousands of homes without power in the Girona region
The wind has exceeded 160 km/h in some areas and has caused trees to fall, road closures and more than 1,200 calls to 112
BarcelonaFallen trees, blocked roads and railway lines, and thousands of customers without power. These are some of the effects of the wind that has been affecting northern Spain since early Sunday morning, although the wind has been gradually weakening for several hours. This was confirmed by Civil Protection in a message on social media. In Ripollès, a tree that fell on a high-voltage power line abruptly left 2,900 customers without electricity. Endesa is currently working to remove it. This is not an isolated incident; more than 5,000 customers experienced problems in other areas of Girona due to various issues affecting a total of seven medium-voltage lines. The company "has reinforced its operational teams on the ground, as well as the resources at the control center" to respond to the incidents, which are mainly caused by fallen branches, trees, or other debris on the power lines.
The wind has been especially strong in the far north of the country, as predicted, with gusts exceeding 120 km/h in the high Pyrenees and approaching 170 km/h in the far north of the Alt Empordà region. Although the wind is now subsiding, Civil Protection has stated that it is maintaining the alert until 1 p.m. tomorrow, Monday. Notable gusts include 167.4 km/h at Portbou - Coll dels Belitres (Alt Empordà), 161.6 km/h at the Queralt Sanctuary (Berguedà), and 132.1 km/h at Tosa de Alp in Cerdanya. These are data from automatic weather stations of the Meteorological Service of Catalonia located in the regions where Civil Protection issued an ES-Alert yesterday (Alt Empordà, Berguedà, Ripollès, and Cerdanya) due to the windstorm. The 161.6 km/h recorded at the Queralt sanctuary is the strongest gust since 2014, and in Navata (Alt Empordà) the highest gust in the station's eleven years of records was reached (123.1 km/h).
The Catalan Fire Service has received more than 1,250 calls related to the wind and snowstorm up until 6:00 PM. Of these, 1,041 were handled by the Girona Emergency Region (RE), 112 by the Central Emergency Region (RE Centre), and 68 by the Lleida Emergency Region (RE Lleida). Among the most notable incidents were the removal of a large fallen tree in Sant Joan de les Abadesses (Ripollès) and the partial collapse of scaffolding on Viena Street in Roses (Alt Empordà). The Medical Emergency Service treated at least three people injured by falling objects or branches in public areas. Firefighters have reinforced their deployment in the Girona Emergency Region with four crews from other regions, including members of the Active Forest Fire Prevention Team (EPAF). Four roads are closed due to fallen trees.
The gale in Ripollès, Berguedà, Alt Empordà, and northern Cerdanya has also affected traffic on the road network, forcing the closure of four roads this morning due to fallen trees and other debris. These are the N-260 in Ribes de Freser towards the Toses pass; the GIV-4714 in Campelles (Ripollès); the GIV-5265 in Villalonga de Ter (Ripollès); and the GIV-5132 in Fontcoberta (Pla de l'Estany), according to the Catalan Traffic Service (SCT). The BV-4024 in the final section of the Pal pass is also closed due to the gale. Snow is also causing problems.
Meanwhile, the snowfall between yesterday and today, along with the blizzard, has closed the BV-4031 at the Creueta pass and is requiring the use of snow chains on the N-260 at the Cantó pass (with restrictions for trucks), the C-28 at the Bonaigua pass, and the C-142b to access Pla de Beret. Snow and ice on the road have also hampered traffic on the C-16 between Bellver de Cerdanya and Bagà, the C-162 between Río and Fontanals de Cerdanya, and on the N-230 between Vilaller and Vielha, with restrictions for articulated vehicles.
