Strong winds and heavy rains have lashed across the port of Palma on Spain's Majorca island. The weather is part of a violent storm that broke out on Sunday morning, blowing down numerous trees, causing flash flooding and damaging a bullring in the town of Felanitx. The thunderstorms left motorists having to navigate treacherous conditions. The Balearic Islands, Catalonia and Valencia were on orange alert and a new rainfall record was recorded in the city of Barcelona. Heavy rains accumulated more than 100 litres of water per square metre in some parts of Catalonia in the middle of a drought. In Vilassar de Mar, firefighters rescued a motorist whose vehicle was dragged by the water and became trapped under a bridge. Powerful winds and torrential rain also poured in Northern Italy, first in Lombardy on Saturday, when heavy storms uprooted trees and damaged roofs and then on Sunday in Liguria. People in Genoa on Sunday morning were caught off-guard by the heavy rainfall and a high alert remains in place for most of Monday in Liguria. The Poppea cyclone, coming from the North of Europe, is pushing its way across the country and it is set to sweep away the summer heat wave. Meanwhile, wildfires have continued to rage in parts of Greece. A fire which broke out on the Cycladic island of Andros on Saturday, probably caused by lightning, had been brought under control by Sunday as firefighters remained in key hotspots as a precaution due to strong winds blowing in the area. Firefighting efforts focused on the front near the village of Vitali. 73 firefighters with 18 fire trucks were operating at the scene, while two aircraft and two helicopters were providing assistance from the air. With hot, dry summers, southern European countries are particularly prone to wildfires however European Union officials have blamed climate change for the increasing frequency and intensity of such fires, noting that 2022 was the second-worst year for wildfire damage on record after 2017. — Euronews
