Spain: 13 dead and 4 missing from Hurricane Gloria

In Spain, the Council of Ministers convened on Friday to discuss measures after the catastrophe left behind by the storm "Gloria", the death toll of which became even heavier, reaching 13 dead.

"Gloria" hit much of Spain with heavy rainfall, strong winds and high waves.

Bridges collapsed, rails were severely damaged, and entire beaches were swept away by the waves.

Four people are still missing

Authorities in Catalonia have confirmed the two most recent deaths on Thursday night. One man was swept away by the waves while fishing, while another was found dead in his car in a flooded area.

Four other people remain missing.

"I think the important thing right now is for us all to be united, to work side by side and to work together as we do," Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez told reporters after inspecting areas affected by the bad weather by helicopter.

The Spanish National Weather Service said the effects had begun to subside, but more than 100 roads remained closed and tens of thousands of students were forced not to go to school.

Extraordinary convening of the Council of Ministers

Noting that "Gloria" hit the area hard while preparing for the tourist season, Sanchez explained that he convened an extraordinary meeting of his cabinet in order to consider measures to normalize the situation, to ensure security and to meet the immediate and most medium-term needs.

"Gloria" hit parts of the Iberian Peninsula severely from Sunday, bringing winds of up to 144 kilometers per hour and waves of 13,5 meters.

Hundreds of thousands of people have been left without electricity, many roads have been closed due to snowfall, agricultural crops have been flooded and rice paddies have been destroyed.

The Spanish Prime Minister stressed that although not every extreme weather phenomenon can be attributed to climate change, it is clear that there is a connection.

"Public administration needs to study how to change speed and focus our financial resources and our policies (…) on a new element - and that is climate change," Sanchez said.

Source: philenews