Cyclone Klaus

Profile

The storm made landfall near Bordeaux, France, at 5:00 am Central European Time on Saturday, 24 January. It traveled southeastwards towards the south-east coast of France throughout Saturday morning, finally reaching there at 1:00 pm. It continued eastwards over Italy, but without causing significant damage. Low pressure systems are regarded as fairly common in Europe at that time of year. Some reports called it the storm of the decade; BBC meteorologist Alex Deakin said, "Saturday's storm is being described as the most damaging since that of December 1999 which killed 88 people."

Michèle Alliot-Marie, the French interior minister, stated that in addition to the 300 civil security agents located in the Landes region of France, another 715 agents would be deployed. In Bordeaux's Gironde region, 19 residents of a retirement home were evacuated by rescuers after the rooftop blew away. Authorities also evacuated campers from the pine forests in Les Landes.

Thousands were evacuated from nearby housing estates in La Nucía, north of Benidorm in Alicante, as the Spanish Army helped to fight a forest fire, which was started by a felled electricity pylon. There were also wildfires in the region of Catalonia, while Spain put emergency services on high alert. Waves over 20 metres high were registered off the northern coast of Spain and dolphins were stranded on beaches in the region as a result of high winds.The Guardian, January 24, 2009 {{Citation|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/jan/24/mediterranean-storms

The storm left millions without electricity mobile telephone, including 1-1-2.

Highest winds

Casualties

Spain

Parts of a sports center collapsed in Sant Boi de Llobregat, 11 km south west of Barcelona, killing four children and injuring 16. In Burela, Galicia, a policeman was killed by a falling tree as he was directing traffic. In La Palma de Cervelló, Province of Barcelona, a road worker was killed by a falling tree. A woman died when a wall collapsed in Barcelona. A man was also killed by a collapsed wall in Aigües de Busot, in Alicante. A woman was killed after being hit by debris.

A Portuguese captain died after being rescued in the northwestern port city of A Coruña, Galicia. A man died after falling from a roof due to the heavy wind.

France

A man was killed by a falling tree while driving near Mont-de-Marsan. A 78-year-old man died when he was hit by flying debris near his home, and a 73-year-old woman died after power loss stopped her respirator.{{cite web |archive-date=2009-01-31 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090131232357/http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hgXVQ7sD2zNPeTX_qoKpLOye_5tA |url-status=dead | access-date = 2009-01-28 | archive-date = 2014-02-01 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140201215205/http://www.leparisien.fr/faits-divers/sud-ouest-reprise-progressive-du-trafic-sncf-25-01-2009-386711.php | url-status = dead |archive-date=2009-02-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090201224140/http://fr.news.yahoo.com/3/20090127/tfr-meteo-tempete-sud-ouest-synthese-56633fe.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=2009-01-31 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090131220613/http://www.lepoint.fr/actualites-societe/tempete-klaus-mobilisation-face-aux-degats-desastre-dans-les/920/0/310512 |url-status=dead

Location

The effects of the storm were felt from the Channel Islands south to Barcelona. The most damaging effects of the storm's rain and heavy winds were located in the south-west of France. The storm originated in the Bay of Biscay and tracked south-eastward through southern France during the evening of 24 January towards northern Italy and the Adriatic, where minimal damage was caused.

References

References

1. (2016-03-04). "Adopt a Vortex!". Institut für Meteorologie, Free University of Berlin.
2. (25 January 2009). "France, Spain pick up pieces after deadly storm". ABC News.
3. (2009-01-31). "Fresh warnings after storm kills 26 in southern Europe".
4. (2009-01-25). "Storm leaves 15 dead in S Europe". The [[BBC]].
5. (27 January 2009). "Muere un hombre en Tarragona que cayó de un tejado el sábado y ya son ocho las víctimas en Cataluña".