Extreme storm warnings in Europe as tourist hotspots evacuated

Flights have been cancelled and beaches closed as storms batter Europe during the height of summer holidays

Heavy rain across Europe has left several areas flooded at major summer holiday hotspots.

Heavy rain has hit Austria, France and Spain and a warning has now been issued for parts of Greece.

It comes as a luxury sailboat carrying tourists - including some from the UK - has capsized and sunk off the coast of Sicily in bad weather that included water spouts.One body has been found, six people were missing and 15 people were rescued, authorities said.

A view of a flooded beach in Soller, Mallorca island, Balearics, Spain (EPA)

The British-flagged, 56-metre Bayesian had a crew of 10 people and 12 passengers, representing British, American and Canadian nationalities, the Italian coast guard said.

One body was found near the wreck, but six others were unaccounted for, said Luca Cari, a spokesperson for the Italian fire rescue service.

Emergency services work near the scene where a sailboat sank in the early hours of Monday off the coast of Porticello (Reuters)

The boat capsized at around 5am on Monday morning off the port of Porticello. Local media said a fierce storm, including water spouts, had battered the area overnight but skies were clear and seas calm by Monday morning.

On Thursday torrential rains across Spain’s Balearic islands flooded roads, forced people to evacuate and flights to be cancelled, with Spain’s emergency military unit saying it had been deployed to Mallorca to help with the situation.

Spanish national weather agency AEMET kept an orange alert on Thursday in the whole area due to the high risk of storms, having downgraded it from red earlier.

The emergency services said they expected the worst of the storm to have passed, having urged people on Wednesday to remain indoors.

“Forbidden to carry out outdoor activities,” read a post from the emergency services posted on X, formerly Twitter.

Beaches are closed to the public after an overflowing stream last week in Alaior, Menorc island, Spain's Balearic Islands, 19 August 2024 (EPA)

Regional firefighters said on X they had cordoned off areas in central Palma de Mallorca and evacuated 29 people from a train on the line between Palma and Manacor due to the flooding.

More than 50 flights were cancelled across airports in the Balearic Islands since the rainstorm started on Wednesday and delays are expected to continue, Spanish airport operator Aena said.

In Greece The National Meteorological Service (EMY) warned of thunderstorms on Monday and Tuesday in western, central and northern parts of Greece.

Phone alert warnings were sent out to many in the Ionian islands, currently packed with tourists. Thunder and lightning will follow the storms.

Heavy rains lashed Alpine regions of Austria and left parts of Vienna under water at the weekend, causing severe damage in parts of the country and disrupting road and rail transport, authorities and local media said.

Fast-moving torrents of muddy water swept cars through the ski resort of St. Anton, in western Austria, on Friday, footage posted on social media showed.

Meanwhile, record rainfall hit parts of Vienna in the east of the country on Saturday, state broadcaster ORF said.

A car drives in a waterlogged street following a heavy storm in Turin, northern Italy, 14 August 2024 (EPA)

A woman was dragged under a bus by the force of flooding in the Doebling area in the north of the city on Saturday, ORF said. She was taken to hospital in a critical condition, it added.

Fire services in the capital were called out more than 450 times on Saturday as the downpours caused traffic chaos and disrupted rail transport, according to ORF.

“Heavy storms have done great damage in many parts of Austria,” Chancellor Karl Nehammer said on X, thanking officials who were working to clear up the damage.

In Vienna’s Doebling district, officials registered 110 litres of rain per square metre, which ORF Vienna meteorologist Kevin Hebenstreit said was a record for August rainfall in the city.

A large proportion of Vienna’s average summer rainfall hit on Saturday in just one hour, according to weather data firm UBIMET.

On average in August it rains a total of 68 litres per square metre, with the all-time record being 139 litres on May 15, 1885, according to ORF.