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Although tempests and hurricanes have churned in the Atlantic Ocean and Pacific east, Europe has encountered severe weather of its own. An atmospheric depression that developed over the Mediterranean Sea in the middle of the week traveled north-east into south-eastern European countries on Thursday afternoon, producing widespread rain showers, stormy weather and prolonged rains.

Ongoing Rainfall and Critical Warnings

The low-pressure area is forecast to persist into Friday and beyond, with models indicating two-day accumulations of three to five inches of rain across a large part of the Balkan Peninsula. Highest-level advisories were declared for Serbia, south-west Romania, Greece's northeast, and the Dodecanese and North Aegean Islands, emphasizing the threat of inundation and danger to residents. Powerful gusts also shut down educational institutions on Zakynthos in the Ionian Islands.

Cold Air Adds Severe Conditions

Frigid temperatures pulled in from Eastern European regions added to the severity, producing significant snowfalls across the Dinaric mountain range, with some models forecasting accumulations of up to 80cm by the weekend.

Previous Inundation in Spanish Regions

Just days before, eastern Spain and the Balearic Islands suffered serious flooding as the remains of the former hurricane passed over the Iberian region before slowing over the Balearic waters. The city of Valencia and Ibiza were worst affected; Gandia measured 356.8mm in half a day – more than 10 times its September average, while the island had 254mm in 24 hours, its wettest day since at least 1952.

Highways, transit hubs, parks, and schools were compelled to shut down, while a rain gauge near Aldaia recorded 57mm in just 35 minutes, causing the local ravine to overflow. The floods come just shy of a year after catastrophic flooding in the region in the previous year that caused the death of more than 230 people.

Tropical Cyclone Bualoi Impacts Vietnamese Regions

Typhoon Bualoi made landfall across central Vietnam this week, delivering heavy rain, powerful gusts, and huge sea swells. Over 300 millimeters of rain was observed within a 24-hour span on the start of the week, leading to rapid flooding and rock slides that obstructed over 3,000 highways and isolated villages across northern provinces. Dozens of flights were halted or rescheduled, and rail transport between the capital Hanoi and the southern metropolis were halted.

Authorities reported 36 fatalities and 147 casualties, with 21 individuals still lost. More than 210,000 houses were damaged or flooded, with in excess of 126,000 acres of agricultural produce destroyed. The Vietnamese authorities has estimated that the typhoon has caused in excess of £260 million in property damage this week.