Storm Bernard leaves 2 dead, several injured in Spain

By Alyssa McMurtry

OVIEDO, Spain (AA) - Storm Bernard battered Southern Spain, causing fatalities, several injuries, and around 2,000 incidents of damage, the Andalusia region's emergency services said on Monday.

The atypical storm, which brought strong winds and heavy rains, reached its peak of destruction late Sunday night and early Monday morning.

One of the men confirmed dead was driving in the Huelva province when a landslide caused his car to flip off the road. Authorities suspect another man died in the city of Cordoba after being struck by sheet metal that the wind ripped off a building.

Meanwhile, several others were injured by falling trees across Andalusia.

One of the worst situations occurred in the famous Alhambra Palace, a popular tourist destination, where three were injured by falling branches. One 16-year-old Polish girl is being treated in intensive care, according to local daily Granada Hoy.

In several spots, windspeeds were reported to have reached well over 100 kilometers (62 miles) per hour. Videos show it was able to pull trees out by the roots.

On Monday, Spain’s meteorological service Aemet admitted that the storm acted differently than they had thought it would and are working to determine if it was a tropical or subtropical storm, if even for a few hours.

Aemet said Storm Bernard had some of the characteristics of a tropical storm like strong storms in its central zone and no well-defined fronts.

Hurricanes rarely reach Spain, and Aemet said that Bernard was originally ruled out as a tropical or subtropical storm so it was not monitored by the National Hurricane Center.

Spain has been dealing with extremely abnormal weather for the last month. Earlier in October, much of the country sweltered through an unprecedented October heat wave that lasted weeks.

But starting last week, violent storms moved in. Last Thursday, for example, Madrid suffered widespread flooding after storm Aline left rainfall that shattered all records since 1860.