1 Big Storm Kristin hit central Portugal!

Storm Kristin, hit central Portugal on this past Wednesday with winds of 140 km /Hour ( 87 mph), and even gusts of wind that reached 208 km/h (130mph)!

The critical period was between 3AM and 6AM.

Currently, these are the municipalities declared to be in a state of calamity:

This number may still change.

Leiria was one of the most affected districts in Portugal. Unfortunately, three people died, one due to a metal metal sheet, another due to a house structure and another struck by a tree. People have also died trying to fix their roofs.

The wind was the major factor in the destruction caused around the city of Leiria, city of Thousands of trees were knocked out by the force of the wind. Even the aerodrome of Leiria, in Monte Real, was severely affected by the big power of the wind gusts. 

The biggest problem though, are the 61 high voltage pylons and thousands of lines of communication were destroyed. There was a Blackout for at least 400 000 people. Until today, only a part of the energy and communications were restored and there are still 150 000 people waiting for their energy problems to be resolved.

A lot of schools were destroyed, meaning children cannot attend school until the buildings are repaired or reconstructed.

And now, during the first weeks of February rain is expected to be persistent and heavy in some occasions. Check out our most recent weather alert here and stay safe!

In terms of driving, some roads may still be blocked by trees and branches.

By the way, CP trains may suffer changes in available routes due to paths being blocked. See more information and alerts here.