mmmmm
Swathes of Portugal were on high alert on Thursday as heavy rain and strong winds battered the country, causing major flooding, forcing evacuations and disrupting transport.
Swathes of Portugal were on high alert on Thursday as heavy rain and strong winds battered the country, felling trees, disrupting transport and forcing evacuations.

Part of the A1 motorway between Portugal's north and south collapsed on Wednesday night near the medieval city of Coimbra after a levee broke underneath.

'Atmospheric river' over Portugal

In Portugal, a weather phenomenon known as an "atmospheric river" - a wide corridor of concentrated water vapour carrying massive amounts of moisture from the tropics - brought new downpours, affecting the north to a greater extent, where authorities have evacuated about 3,000 residents.



The Portuguese Institute of the Sea and the Atmosphere (IPMA) said Storm Oriana - a separate Atlantic depression approaching the north of the peninsula - would not directly affect mainland Portugal, but would cause heavy rainfall and wind across most of the country on Thursday and Friday.

Infrastructure Minister Miguel Pinto Luz told reporters that restoring the affected stretch of the A1 motorway would take weeks, as repairs needed to wait for the floodwaters to recede.

The situation in Coimbra was stable overnight and there was no need to conduct additional evacuations, state news agency Lusa reported on Thursday, citing a source in the local civil protection service.