2018 European floods

From 4 October 2018 to early November, heavy floods affected Europe. The floods started in the Italian region of Calabria. Then, on 9 October, the island of Mallorca, Spain was struck by floods and in the next days some cities in Southwest France, the region of Sardinia, Italy and some parts of Portugal and the United Kingdom were also struck by flash floods. At the end of the month, Italy was struck again by heavy floods and strong winds. A total of 69 people were killed: 36 in Italy, 16 in France, 13 in Spain, 2 in the United Kingdom and 2 in Portugal.

2018 European floods
DateOctober–November 2018
Location
  • Spain
  • France
  • Italy
  • United Kingdom
  • Portugal
Deaths69
Property damage€200 million (France)[1]

Flooded countries
CountriesDeathsDetails
 Italy 36 On 4 October, the region of Calabria was struck by floods. A woman and her two children died when their car crashed. A bridge collapsed and roads were also damaged.[2]

Later, on 10 October, in the city of Cagliari, Sardinia a woman died when her car was swept away. Her husband and their three children were rescued alive. Another man is currently missing in the city.[3]

At the end of October and the beginning of November, heavy floods affected the entire country, killing 32 people, thirteen of whom in the region of Sicily. Several others were injured.[4][5][6]

Venice flooded due to an exceptionally high tide of 156 cm (5.12 feet) (the 4th highest acqua alta since 1923), leaving 70% of the city underwater.[7] The Dolomites mountain range, an UNESCO World Heritage Site, and most of the mountainous region in the North-Eastern Italy (for example at the Asiago plateau) suffered many landslides and flooding due to heavy rain, with extensive communication and basic services disruption, and a great percentage of its woods was levelled by hurricane-force winds up to 190 km/h (120 mph; 100 kn) during the late afternoon of 29 October.[8][9]

 France 16 France was also struck by the floods, causing damage.

Two people died when their vehicle was swept away by floodwater in Sainte-Maxime on 10 October.[10]

On 15 October, at least 14 people died after floods affected the Aude region. A bridge also collapse in the locality of Villegailhenc, while all roads were inaccessible in Carcassonne.[11] Damage in the region were about €200 million.[1]

 Spain 13 On 9 October, Mallorca was severely struck, leaving 12 dead, including six foreign tourists: three from Germany, two from the United Kingdom and one from the Netherlands.[3]

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has said it will take months to return the disaster-hit towns to normality. More than 300 rescue workers were active, including 200 that were searching for a missing boy, that was found dead days later, bringing the final death toll to 13.[12]

On 11 October, Rafael Nadal opened his tennis academy centre to the flood victims.[13]

 United Kingdom 2 On 13 October, two people died in United Kingdom: the first victim was a man who died in a landslide in Wales, the second victim was a man who died after entering the sea in Brighton.[14]
 Portugal 2 On 14 October, two men were found dead during the storms in Portugal, one near a church. The police said that they are not sure if these people died from storm-related causes as the causes of death were heart attacks. 28 others were injured.[15]

See also

References
  1. Thomas Guien (October 21, 2018). "Inondations meurtrières dans l'Aude : le montant des dégâts estimé à 200 millions d'euros" (in French). La Chaîne Info. Retrieved October 21, 2018.
  2. Nubifragio in Calabria, trovato il corpo del bambino morto con la madre e il fratello (in Italian)
  3. Search for missing after 15 killed in Europe floods
  4. Pubblicato il 2 novembre 2018 Maltempo, turista uccisa da fulmine in Sardegna. Bellunese senza tregua (in Italian)
  5. "Maltempo in Sicilia, 12 morti" (in Italian). Archived from the original on 2018-11-04. Retrieved 2018-11-04.
  6. Disperso a Corleone, trovato in un vigneto il corpo del medico Liotta: morto a 10 km dalla sua auto (in Italian)
  7. "Acqua alta hits Venice". ANSA.
  8. Maltempo, nel Bellunese situazione disastrosa. Mancano anche i servizi essenziali (in Italian)
  9. Italy storms: Five dead as northern villages are cut off
  10. Two dead in flash floods in southern France
  11. France: le bilan des inondations dans l’Aude monte à 14 morts (in French)
  12. Hallado el cuerpo sin vida de Arthur, el niño de seis años desaparecido en la riada de Mallorca (in Spanish)
  13. Rafael Nadal opens his tennis academy centre to Majorca flood victims
  14. Storm Callum victim named as England and Wales clean up after floods
  15. Duas pessoas faleceram na madrugada da passagem de Leslie. Autoridades dão informações contraditórias (in Portuguese)
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