One dead, 18 injured as Hurricane Leslie rams into Portugal

Source: Xinhua| 2018-10-15 04:16:51|Editor: Mu Xuequan
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LISBON, Oct. 14 (Xinhua) -- One person was killed, 28 others lightly injured and 61 homeless as Hurricane Leslie sweeped through 13 districts during the weekend, according to Portuguese Lusa News Agency on Sunday.

The victim was struck by a tree in Montemor-o-Velho, Coimbra district in the north of the country, which is the most affected area by the storm. All schools and kindergartens there would be closed on Monday.

The strong winds brought down trees and high votage power lines, causing more than 100,000 consumers remain without power.

A gust of wind has reached about 176 km per hour on Saturday night in Figueira da Foz, the highest figure recorded in Portugal, the Portuguese Institute for the Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA) said on Sunday.

The National Civil Protection Authority (ANPC) has decided to keep the yellow alert in mainland Portugal until 24:00 local time on Monday, as there are structures that can fall and "too much work to clean" what was damaged by the passing of the Leslie.

Despite the decision to keep the second level alert more active, weather data suggest that the situation will progressively improve, Duarte da Costa, national commander of ANPC, told a press conference at the authority's headquarters, in Carnaxide, Lisbon on Sunday.

He said that intense wind and rainy periods are still to be expected on Monday and that there are trees and infrastructure that suffered damages during the storm that may still fall.

The IPMA placed 13 districts under red warning as Hurricane Leslie was heading towards the continental territory late on Saturday.

Portuguese capital Lisbon and the nearby Setubal, the central Leiria and Santarem as well as Coimbra, Aveiro, Porto, Braga, Viana do Castelo, Vila Real, Castelo Branco, Viseu and Guarda in the north are districts under red warning, according to IPMA.

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