VIGO, Spain — A one-two punch of winter storms has socked Europe with strong winds and rain over several days, leaving at least nine people dead.
The first storm swept across Portugal, Spain, and southern France on Thursday and Friday, and severe flooding hit parts of Britain over the weekend.
The storms killed at least seven people in Spain, where high winds also downed power lines, scattered debris on roads and railroad tracks, and forced some flight cancellations.
Smaller towns in the north of the country were hit by flooding. Residents were evacuated on Friday from Reinosa, about 240 miles north of Madrid, while others watched from their balconies as vehicles were swept down the streets by the floodwaters, according to local news reports.
Parks and public gardens across Madrid — including the Retiro, the 350-acre park in the heart of the city — reopened on Sunday. They had been closed since Thursday because of fears that the strong winds could blow down tree branches and endanger visitors.
The authorities in Madrid said on Saturday that a 32-year-old woman from South Korea had died after being struck by debris that had blown off a building in the city.
Other victims of the storms in Spain included a Dutch man who died while surfing near Huelva on the southwestern coast, and a farmer in the southern province of Granada whose vehicle was swept away when he tried to cross a flooded road.
The northwestern region of Galicia remained on red alert on Sunday — the highest level — because of high winds caused by the second storm. About 27,000 homes were left without electricity in Galicia after power lines were destroyed.
The storms also killed at least two people in Portugal. One man died in Montijo, a town near Lisbon, after a tree fell on his truck, and another was killed after his house collapsed in the northern province of Castro Daire, Reuters reported. Heavy rainfall caused widespread flooding in many parts of the country.
Emergency teams had to remove debris from the tracks. The storms disrupted traffic in and around Lisbon, the capital, leading to the suspension of ferry services across the Tagus river as well as the coastal rail line. Train service between Lisbon and Porto, the country’s second-largest city, resumed on Sunday.
No injuries were reported in France, but strong winds that have buffeted the country since Friday set a record. Winds of up to 130 kilometers per hour (81 miles per hour) were recorded in St.-Etienne-Bouthéon in central France, an intensity not seen since 1981, according to Météo France, the national meteorological service.
In Britain, the Environment Agency issued more than 270 flood warnings and alerts for England after many villages were struck by heavy rains and severe flooding over the weekend.
There were even reports of a tornado in the town of Chertsey, in southeastern England, the national weather service said Saturday.
Philip Passey, a Chertsey resident, told the BBC that he froze when he saw the tornado.
“The leaves were going horizontal,” he said, adding that the winds had lifted a trampoline in the air. “There was a huge roar, then nothing.”
Raphael Minder reported from Vigo, Spain, and Iliana Magra from London.
