MADRID (AP) – An ongoing snowstorm has covered large areas of Spain with 50 years of record amounts of snow, killing at least four people and trapping thousands in cars or at train stations and airports that had shut down all services as the snow continued to fall on Saturday.
The bodies of a man and a woman were recovered by the emergency services of the Andalusia region after their car was washed away by a flooded river near the city of Fuengirola. The Interior Ministry said a 54-year-old man was also found dead in Madrid under a large pile of snow. A homeless man died of hypothermia in the northern city of Zaragoza, local police reported.
More than half of the Spanish provinces remained alert on Saturday afternoon, five of them at the highest level of warning, for Storm Filomena. In the capital, authorities have activated the red alarm for the first time since the system was introduced four decades ago, calling on the military to rescue people from vehicles trapped on everything from minor roads to the city’s main thoroughfares.
More than 50 centimeters of snow fell in the capital. Saturday at 7 a.m., the national weather agency AEMET had recorded the highest 24-hour snowfall in Madrid since 1971.
Sandra Morena, who was trapped late Friday while commuting to her night shift as a security guard in a shopping center, arrived home on foot after an emergency army unit assisted her on Saturday morning.
“It usually takes me 15 minutes, but this time it was 12 hours of freezing, with no food or drink, crying with other people because we didn’t know how to get out of there,” says Morena, 22.
“Snow can be beautiful, but spending the night in a car is no fun,” she added.
AEMET had warned that some regions would receive more than 24 hours of continuous snowfall due to the strange combination of a cold air mass stagnating over the Iberian Peninsula and the arrival of the warmer Storm Filomena from the south.
The storm is expected to move northeast all Saturday, but a cold snap is expected to follow, the agency said.
Transport Minister José Luis Ábalos warned that “snow will turn to ice and we will enter a situation that may be more dangerous than what we currently have.”
He added that the priority was to help those in need, but also to ensure the supply chain for food and other basic goods.
“The storm has surpassed the most pessimistic forecasts we had,” added Ábalos.
Carlos Novillo, head of Madrid’s emergency response service, said more than 1,000 vehicles were trapped, mainly on the city’s ring road and the main highway leading from the capital south to the regions of Castilla La Mancha and Andalusia.
“The situation remains a high risk. This is a very complex phenomenon and a critical situation, ”Novillo said in a social media post Saturday morning.
“We ask all those who are stuck to be patient, we will reach you,” he added.
Airport operator AENA said Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas International Airport, the main gateway in and out of the country, would remain closed all day after the blizzard defeated machines and workers trying to keep the runways clear of snow.
All trains in and out of Madrid, both commuter routes and long-distance passenger trains, as well as rail lines between the south and north-east of the country, were suspended, rail operator Renfe said.
The storm had caused serious disruptions on Saturday morning or closed more than 650 roads in total, according to Spanish authorities, urging people to stay indoors and avoid all unnecessary travel.
The wintry weather even halted the country’s football competition, with some top La Liga teams unable to travel for matches. Saturday’s game between Spanish leader Atlético Madrid and Athletic Bilbao was postponed after the plane with the Bilbao team failed to land in the capital on Friday and had to turn around.
The regions of Castilla La Mancha and Madrid, where a total of 8.6 million people live, announced that schools would be closed on Mondays and Tuesdays in any case.
Despite the numerous branches and even entire trees that have fallen from the weight of the snow, the blizzard also produced surreal images that entertained many Madrileños, including a few brave skiers and a man on a dog sled that was seen in large-scale videos. spread widely on social media.
Lucía Vallés, a coach from a Madrid-based ski club who usually has to travel to distant mountains with her clients, was thrilled to see the white layers of snow literally pile up on her doorstep.
“I never thought this was a gift,” said the 23-year-old. “But I’ve never had so many photos taken of me,” she added as she glided past the late 18th-century building that houses the Prado Museum.
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AP writer Joseph Wilson in Barcelona, Spain contributed to this report.