Storm Charles causes floods and flight cancellations across southern Europe

Storm Charles has brought destructive rain and winds to Portugal and Spain, causing flooding, road closures and hundreds of flight cancellations. It then moved through southern France towards Italy, where further heavy rain is forecast, raising the risk of more flooding.

Madeira recorded a wind gust of 84.5mph and up to 355mm of rain in 12 hours; Lisbon cancelled 183 flights and Madrid 155. Italy issued its highest-level rainfall warning from Tuscany to Venezia, with up to 100mm of additional rain forecast widely and nearly 200mm in mountainous areas. Separately, British Columbia has faced repeated storms, power cuts affecting hundreds of thousands of customers, flooding and landslides, with more severe weather expected.