A man skis in front of the statue of Christopher Columbus on the 9th in Plaza Colon in Madrid, the capital of Spain, after heavy snowfall. Unusual heavy snow accompanied by strong winds fell almost across the country, and traffic was cut off everywhere. The government mobilized military forces to rescue citizens trapped in vehicles or trains. Madrid = AP Yonhap News
It is not only Korea that suffers from heavy snow and cold waves. Spain, which was hit by an all-time snow bomb, was paralyzed. The heavy snowfall killed at least four people in Spain, and thousands of people were trapped at train stations and airports, the Associated Press reported on the 9th (local time).
According to the National Meteorological Administration of Spain, snowfall in the capital city of Madrid at 7 am on the day was 50 cm, the highest in 50 years since 1971. It has been 10 years since it has snowed in Madrid. In Andalusia, a car was swept away by a river flooded with heavy snow, killing two men and women, and in Madrid, a 53-year-old man was found dead in a snowball. In the northern city of Zaragoza, one homeless man died of hypothermia.
The Spanish government used the military to rescue people trapped in vehicles on the road. Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marasca said more than 1,500 people had been removed from the vehicle by this evening. Madrid’s Barajas International Airport is closed until the 10th, and all trains to and from Madrid and the southern and northeastern railway lines have ceased to operate. Over 650 roads were also cut off. The Spanish professional football La Liga match has been delayed, and the Madrid and Castile La Mancha regions are closed until Tuesday.
This heavy snowfall is due to the enormous snow storm formed when the cold air from Siberia and the temperate cyclone from the south met on the Iberian Peninsula. This has resulted in alarms in more than half of Spain, with the highest level of warning in seven of them. Madrid’s first red alarm was triggered 40 years after the weather warning system was created.
The Spanish Meteorological Agency predicts that there will be more than 24 hours of snowfall in some areas. The temperature is also expected to drop significantly. Transportation Minister Jose Luis Avalos said, “After a snow storm, a cold wave will come and the snow will freeze.” “A more dangerous situation is expected.
Although not as much as Spain, heavy snows and colds continue in other European countries. In neighboring Portugal, the weather fell below freezing, and in Milan, Italy, where snow is rare, an unusual snowfall recently fell. A cold wave advisory was issued in Britain. The BBC said, “The cold scandinavian air hit the continent of Europe.”
Kim Pyo-hyang reporter [email protected]
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