Spain and Portugal Issue Storm Alerts: 300 Evacuated in Catalonia, 11 Injured, Portugal Warns Lisbon and Porto

Severe storms prompted the evacuation of about 300 people from a campsite in Roda de Berà, Catalonia, while Portugal's IPMA activated yellow warnings for Lisbon, Porto and other districts.

Original report
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Industry impact

Regional weather alerts across the Iberian Peninsula highlight recurring seasonal disruption risk for coastal tourism and travel operations in southern Europe.

Spain and Portugal responded to severe storm conditions, with around 300 people evacuated from Camping Arc de Berà in Roda de Berà, Tarragona province, after floodwater entered the site. Ten emergency units were mobilised and some displaced guests were moved to a temporary reception centre. Across the wider Catalonia storm episode, 11 people were injured and more than 800 calls were made to the 112 emergency service, with the most serious incident a wall collapse in Roda de Berà affecting three people, two of them seriously injured. The regional Civil Protection agency kept the INUNCAT flood plan active.

In Portugal, the national weather institute IPMA updated its warning table at 06:25 UTC on 23 August 2026, activating yellow warnings for Lisbon, Porto, Leiria, Setúbal, Viana do Castelo, Aveiro, Braga and Coimbra during the morning and afternoon, with Santarém, Vila Real and Viseu entering an alert period from 15:00 to 21:00 UTC and several districts facing a further alert window on 24 August. IPMA identified hazards including rainfall of 10–20 millimetres per hour, thunderstorms, wind gusts of 70–90 kilometres per hour, and possible hail.

Authorities did not link the two countries' weather events to a single named storm system, and no nationwide transport shutdown or flight cancellations were confirmed in either country. Officials advised travellers to monitor IPMA and Catalan Civil Protection updates, verify transport arrangements with operators, and avoid riverbanks, underpasses and floodwater.