Laurence Dollimore
DOZENS of flights in Spain have been cancelled or forced to divert today due to hurricane force winds battering the country.
More than 40 flights have now been cancelled at multiple major airports, including Bilbao, Santander, A Coruña, Santiago and Vigo.
Bilbao has been the worst affected with 27 cancellations and 11 diversions as of the 3pm.
Vigo has seen six cancellations, Santiago five, Santander three and A Coruña two.
READ MORE: Red weather alert is activated in Spain warning of ‘extreme risk to life’
The authorities in the Basque Country and other areas of the north have advised residents to avoid unnecessary journeys and to take extreme precautions, especially on roads, where the wind can create dangerous situations.
It comes as falling branches and other minor incidents have already been reported.
Multiple roads were pictured cut off in the north today, with many rail services also being delayed due to obstruction on tracks.
The situation is being closely monitored by the emergency services, who have been placed on alert.
In addition, the Provincial Council of Bizkaia has issued recommendations for residents, advising them to secure their windows and tie down any objects that could fly away due to gusts of wind.
Hurricane force winds are battering large parts of Spain today as the worst of Storm Kirk arrives to the Iberian Peninsula.
State weather agency Aemet has upgraded many of its warnings and has even placed parts of the north on a red alert, meaning there is an ‘extreme risk to life’.
The south of Oviedo and Gijon are facing the maximum warning due to winds exceeding 140km/hr.
But according to reports, gusts of 205km have already been recorded in the north, including in Cantabria.
Meanwhile, most of the northwest is on an orange alert for similar conditions, including A Coruña, Lugo, Vigo, Pontevedra, Santiago de Compostela, Ourense, Leon, Bilbao, Burgos, Valladolid, Palencia, Zamora, and Salamanca.
The majority of the country is also under a yellow alert for winds and rain, including Madrid and the Balearic Islands, which face gusts of 70km/hr and 60km/hr respectively.
Joining them are; Segovia, Avila, Cuenca, Teruel, Albacete, Toledo, Caceres, Avila, Talavera de la Reina, Plasencia, Catalayud and parts of the northern Valencia coastline.
Andalucia will be met with strong winds and rain but only the coasts of Granada and Almeria have weather warnigns for four-metre waves and 60km/hr winds.
