The remains of Hurricane Kirk, which arrived on the peninsula in the form of a violent storm yesterday morning, are causing dozens of incidents throughout Galicia, with a particular impact on the Atlantic coast. There are problems with train circulation, with the conventional track being cut first between Padrón and A Escravitude (A Coruña), then between Arcade and Redondela (Pontevedra). Air Europa canceled several flights at Galician airports, falling branches and trees damaged the roads in several areas of the community and strong gusts of wind caused damage to several educational centers. The Xunta has decided not to suspend classes. While all of Galicia was on orange alert due to the strong storm, it sent out a notice canceling only outdoor activities.
The Director General of Emergencies and Interior, Santiago Villanueva, reported in the morning that 112 had recorded 371 incidents and more than 3,000 calls during the first hours of Storm Kirk in Galicia. Mainly, he said, because of falling trees, branches and objects on roads and streets.
In Porto do Son (La Coruña), the storm demolished one of the walls of the institute’s sports center and in Santiago de Compostela, the wind tore off the roof of the Conservatory. On the south campus, several cars were hit by falling trees.
These incidents were repeated in other areas of the city and a tree felled by the storm on Avenida de Lugo delayed the plenary session of Parliament by 20 minutes. The president of the Xunta, Alfonso Rueda, who was supposed to appear at 10 a.m. to answer questions from the opposition, found himself stuck in the hole in the road, as he indicated at the beginning of his speech.
A landslide caused traffic jams in the Brión-Noia corridor. In Vigo, Europa Press reports that on Paseo de Granada, a tree fell on two vehicles and that on Falcoido Street, another tree forced a traffic lane to be cut. The same thing happened in O Castro, next to the Conservatory, and on Avenida da Ponte.
The strong gusts of wind also caused power outages in different parts of the Galician geography, notably in the provinces of Pontevedra and La Coruña.
According to Meteogalicia data, maximum gusts of 181 kilometers per hour were recorded in Lardeira, in Carballeda de Valdeorras (Ourense). In Rois (La Coruña), 79.6 liters of rain per square meter accumulated. Conditions are forecast to begin to improve around midday on Wednesday.
