A swimmer has died after drowning in Tarragona amid the Benjamín storm, which has hit Catalonia hard, attending to 26 people, of whom 11 have been transferred to medical centers. The storm has caused outages in the Rodalies service and in the electricity supply in several areas, in addition to forcing the activation of the VENTCAT plan by Civil Protection due to the intense wind gusts that exceeded forecasts, reaching 131.8 km/h in Portbou. To ensure safety, parks and gardens have been closed in several cities, and the firefighters have received nearly a thousand alerts related to the storm.
The situation has been accompanied by safety recommendations from Protecció Civil, which urged citizens to stay informed about the weather conditions and to take precautions against strong winds and possible falling objects. In the midst of the climate crisis, significant incidents have been recorded, such as the closure of the Rodalies R1 line and the evacuation of a school in Tàrrega, due to the risk posed by wind-lifted panels. Additionally, 41 municipalities have activated Level 3 of the Alfa Plan due to the high risk of forest fires, adding a new cause for concern to the already critical situation in Catalonia.
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