Driver killed and motorway collapses as storms hit France, Portugal and Spain

EPA/ShutterstockPortugal has experienced weeks of poor weather that has affected its internal infrastructureA lorry-driver was killed by a falling tree as Storm Nils swept across western France, leaving 900,000 homes without power.Gales of 162km/h (100mph) were reported near France's south-west coast, and Alpine ski resorts in the east closed because of the high risk of avalanche, including La Plagne.In Portugal a section of the A1 motorway linking Lisbon to Porto collapsed when a river burst its banks near Coimbra.The storms caused significant disruption to transport in Spain, with schools suspended in Catalonia in the north-east, the Basque country on red alert for waves of up to 10m (32ft) on the north-west coast, and winds of 148km/h recorded at Alicante in the south-east.A number of people were hurt in accidents in Spain. In the Barcelona area, four workers were injured as they cleared fallen trees and a pedestrian was hurt when a wall collapsed. Dozens of flights were cancelled at the city's El Prat airport.ED JONES/AFPA lorry lies on its side during strong winds brought by Storm Nils near Leucate in south-west FranceMeanwhile, a woman had to be rescued when her car fell into a sinkhole that emerged on a road near the western town of Cáceres.Across the border in central Portugal, a 10m section of the A1 motorway collapsed after the Mondego river burst its banks, and the flooded river breached the Casais do Campo dyke.The stretch of motorway had already been closed before it collapsed.EPA/ShutterstockThe main A1 motorway near Coimbria is expected to be closed for weeks because of the collapseVisiting the scene on Thursday, Infrastructure Minister Miguel Pinto Luz said it would take weeks for the road to be repaired.This week alone, the government says Portugal has experienced 20% of its annual average rainfall, but the poor weather has been going on for weeks, battering the country's infrastructure."Since the start of January, discharges from dams and reservoirs have been the equivalent of about a year of our country's water consumption," Maria Graça Carvalho told Portuguese media.Authorities are also closely watching the River Tagus, where they say the flow of water from three dams was 6,500 cubic metres per second Thursday morning. Interior Minister Maria Lucia Amaral resigned earlier this week following political criticism of her handling of the worsening conditions, which have left several people dead and caused billions of euros in damage.Even before the latest storm, Portugal had endured Storm Kristin, Leonardo and Storm Marta. While winter storms are not uncommon, scientists say the increasing frequency and intensity of extreme weather events on the Iberian Peninsula is partly down to climate change linked to rising greenhouse gas emissions.Meanwhile, in France, red alerts were declared in several areas in the south-west, south and south-east.In the southern Aude region 40 roads were declared impassable with gales of up to 110km/h.Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot paid tribute to the lorry driver killed in the Landes region and appealed to the public to "exercise utmost caution when travelling and check with their transport operator before any journey".Police told French media that a tree fell on the man's vehicle and a branch went through his windscreen.Elsewhere a worker was seriously hurt when a tree fell on his vehicle at Castelsarrasin north of Toulouse.Europe feels the impact of weeks of wet weather and freezing coldAre wetter winters and frequent flooding here to stay?Aerial footage shows flooded cities as storms hit SpainSpainFrancePortugalSevere weather