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Storm Fien, which began making its way across Spain at the end of the weekend, bringing gale-force winds, metres-high waves, snow and driving rain, has claimed its first victim on Tuesday January 17.

 

The body of an 80-year-old man was recovered by a Red Cross rescue boat in the port of Bermeo in Vizcaya (Basque Country). The elderly victim’s family sounded the alarm when he failed to return home on Monday night and an extensive search was launched. The man’s body was pulled from the water shortly after 1am.

 

The Basque Country was issued with a red weather alert on Monday for adverse sea conditions and every region in Spain remains on either yellow or orange alert, with the exception of the Canary Islands. The arrival of storm Fien has coincided with the entry of a polar maritime air mass, meaning that the seas are particularly dangerous and Galicia and Aragón are at extreme risk (red warning).

 

In the Basque Country, where this tragedy occurred, winds of up to 110kmh are expected on January 17 and the waves will likely reach 8 metres high. The local government has preventatively activated the alert phase of its Special Plan against flooding.

 

Elsewhere, the provinces of Almeria and Granada in Andalucia have been issued with an orange wind and wave warning while Cádiz, Jaén, Seville, Cordoba and Malaga are all under yellow alert.

 

The Valencian Community, the Balearic Islands and the Region of Murcia maintain the orange warning due to gusts of wind that will reach between 90-100kmh; In the Balearic Islands there is also a warning for strong waves of 5 to 6 metres, although the highest wave could reach 8 to 10 metres. Catalonia will also be affected by this storm, with greater intensity in the province of Girona, at an orange level due to a southwest wind of 60 to 70kmh (force 8) and 4-metre waves.

 

 

Image: Red Cross