Spain Reels From Deadly Floods as Storm Austen Hits UK, France
A waves breaks on the Phare du Mole lighthouse during the Austen storm in Saint Malo, western France on October 23, 2026. (Photo | AFP)
Madrid/ London: Western Europe is being battered by a succession of storms, with eastern Spain recovering from deadly floods caused by Storm Adam while the UK and France are hit by Storm Austen, its first named storm of the winter, and a further system lines up behind it.
Storm Adam brought torrential rain to eastern Spain earlier this week. In Pego, in Alicante province, 632 mm fell in 36 hours, 430 mm of it in just six hours, while the Valencian town of Oliva received 600 mm in 24 hours. On Monday, 145 municipalities across Valencia and Alicante imposed a temporary lockdown on about 850,000 people. At least five people have died, 500 have been rescued and 2,100 evacuated. In the Balearic Islands, authorities recorded more than 130 incidents in Ibiza, where standing water at the airport led to flights being diverted or suspended. The worst has passed and conditions are improving, though local disruption is expected to continue.
Storm Austen is tracking through the English Channel, bringing damaging winds to south-west England, Wales, south-west Ireland and northern France. Gusts are expected to reach 50 to 60 mph, with up to 80 to 90 mph on exposed north-western coasts of France.
Storm Boelo is expected to cross northern Scotland from Saturday into Sunday, bringing prolonged rain and damaging winds. Western Scotland will see the strongest gusts, with 40 to 55 mph across much of the UK and Ireland, and up to 70 to 80 mph in exposed parts of north-west Ireland. Rainfall of 10 to 20 mm is forecast, with 30 to 60 mm in western Ireland, Wales and south-west England, raising the risk of flooding on top of Austen’s rain.
In Asia, Super Typhoon Champi is heading towards China and Japan over the weekend after passing north-eastern Taiwan on Friday. Though weakened, it remains equivalent to a category 5 hurricane, with gusts of 185 mph. Up to 900 mm of rain is forecast for mountainous parts of Taiwan, with school closures, cancelled flights and six-metre waves reported.
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