One dead, thousands evacuated as violent storm batters France, Spain, and Portugal

A powerful storm sweeping across Western Europe has left one man dead and close to one million homes without electricity, as winds of up to 100mph triggered widespread disruption in France, Spain and Portugal.

Storm Nils struck France on February 11 and turned fatal in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, where a truck driver was killed after a tree branch fell onto his vehicle, according to foreign media reports.

France’s national weather agency, Météo-France, placed five regions — Savoie, Aude, Gironde, Pyrénées-Orientales and Lot-et-Garonne — under red alert due to the risk of avalanches, violent winds and flooding. A further 30 departments remain on orange alert as the country braces for continued severe weather.

The storm has left nearly one million French households without power. Schools have been closed, train services cancelled, and traffic speeds restricted in anticipation of further strong winds.

Streets in several areas have been flooded, and in Haute-Garonne, a woman had to be rescued from her partially submerged car after becoming trapped while attempting to cross a flooded road. French forecaster Sébastien Léas described the situation as “critical,” comparing the storm’s impact to that of Storm Goretti, which caused significant damage in January.

The extreme weather system also battered Spain and Portugal, placing both countries on high alert. In Spain, 100mph winds and heavy rain struck Catalonia in what officials described as the strongest winds in the region in two decades. Schools, flights and transport services were cancelled, while the Spanish meteorological agency AEMET issued severe weather warnings for multiple regions. Along the Atlantic coast, turbulent seas generated massive waves, and flooding affected streets in several cities.

In Andalusia, emergency services were overwhelmed by dozens of flood-related incidents as rivers burst their banks. Authorities in Castilla-La Mancha opened dam floodgates to reduce downstream flood risks, while three rivers in Galicia remain at maximum risk of overflowing. Regional officials warned that increased dam discharges are likely to cause flooding on multiple road sections.

Thousands of residents were evacuated overnight from parts of southern Spain, including Andalusia, after weeks of extreme weather linked to both Storm Nils and Storm Marta. The storm system is also forecast to impact the Balearic Islands, with waves expected to reach up to eight metres in Mallorca and Menorca.

The severe weather is set to continue, with AEMET announcing that another storm, named Oriana, is expected to arrive on Friday, February 13. The agency said Oriana may be, at least temporarily, the final storm in a prolonged series of systems that began at the end of December.

By Tamilla Hasanova