🔗 Share this article

Although storms and tropical storms have churned in the Atlantic and Pacific east, the continent has faced intense conditions of its own. A weather disturbance that developed over the Mediterranean Sea midweek moved north-east into the Balkan region on Thursday afternoon, bringing widespread showers, electrical storms and lengthy rains.

Continuing Rains and Serious Alerts

This weather pattern is forecast to remain into the end of the week, with forecasting tools indicating two-day accumulations of three to five inches of precipitation across a large part of the Balkans. Severe weather alerts were declared for the nation of Serbia, Romania's southwest, northeastern Greece, and the Dodecanese and North Aegean Islands, highlighting the risk of flooding and danger to residents. Powerful gusts also closed classes on Zakynthos in the Ionian archipelago.

Chilly Air Intensifies Harshness

Frigid temperatures brought in from the east worsened the severity, generating deep snow across the Alpine region, with several predictions estimating depths of as much as 80 centimeters by the coming weekend.

Earlier Floods in Spain

Earlier in the week, eastern Spain and the Balearics endured devastating inundation as the leftovers of the former hurricane crossed the Spanish peninsula before coming to a halt over the Balearic waters. The city of Valencia and Ibiza were worst affected; The town of Gandia measured 14 inches in a 12-hour period – significantly exceeding its average for the month, while Ibiza had 254 millimeters in 24 hours, its rainiest day since at least 1952.

Highways, railway stations, public parks, and school buildings were compelled to shut down, while one gauge near the area of Aldaia registered 57mm in just half an hour, resulting in the local ravine to flood. The floods come just shy of a year after devastating inundations in the region in 2024 that caused the death of more than 230 people.

Typhoon Bualoi Impacts Vietnamese Regions

Typhoon Bualoi made landfall across central Vietnam this week, bringing heavy rain, strong winds, and huge sea swells. Over 300 millimeters of rainfall was recorded within a 24-hour period on the start of the week, leading to rapid flooding and landslides that closed thousands of routes and cut off communities across the northern regions. Dozens of flights were cancelled or delayed, and rail transport between the capital Hanoi and the southern metropolis were halted.

Authorities reported 36 deaths and 147 casualties, with 21 people still missing. Over 210,000 homes were impacted or inundated, with more than 51,000 hectares of rice and other crops ruined. National officials has assessed that Bualoi has resulted in in excess of £260 million in economic losses this recent period.