Five dead as storm wreaks havoc in Spain and Portugal

A storm sweeping across Spain and Portugal has killed at least five people, damaged buildings, cut power lines and forced authorities to shut roads hit by flooding and fallen trees, officials said.

Storm Elsa hit the Iberian Peninsula on Wednesday and increased in intensity on Thursday afternoon, packing high winds and heavy rain. Authorities said it was being tracked by a second storm, Fabien.

Spanish authorities said Elsa was likely to continue pummeling central and southern Spain and that Fabien would bring winds of up to 140 km/hour and waves as high as 9 metres (30 ft) in the north.

In Portugal, civil protection commander Pedro Nunes forecast that weather conditions would worsen on Friday afternoon and through the night.

Ore via Reuters