Aside from leaving thousands of cars trapped and train stations and airport services suspended, a persistent blizzard blanketed a huge portion of Spain with an unusual amount of snow, which also killed at least four individuals on Saturday.
Snowfall Hits 50-year Record High
Weather agency AEMET, mentioned in their report that as of 7 a.m., the snowfall in Madrid reached the level that is unseen in a span of half a century.
The national weather agency also shared that not less than 20 inches of snow fell in the Spanish Capital, CBS News reported.
The Andalucia region emergency sevice recovered the bodies of a man and a woman after their car was washed away by a flooded river close to the town of Fuengirola.
Based on the information shared by the Interior Ministry, a 54-yar-old man was also found dead in Madrid under a huge pile of snow.
The local police department also reported that a homeless man died due to hypothermia or a condition of having a lower body temperature than normal body temperature, in the northern city of Zaragoza.
On Saturday evening, more than half of the provinces of Spain remained under severe weather alerts for Storm Filomena with seven among them tagged at the highest level of warning.
Since the warning system started to adopt forty years ago, authorities in Madrid activated a red alert for the first time and also seek help from the military in order to rescue people from vehicles trapped on everything from small roads to the major thoroughfares of the city, Voice of America reported.
A citizen, Sandra Morena, was trapped while commuting to her night shift as a security guard in a shopping center but rescued out by the emergency unit of the army on Saturday morning and she arrived home safe and on foot.
The 22-year-old security guard shared that it usually takes her 15 minutes for her travel time but that time it took her 12 hours freezing without having any food or water while crying along with other individuals for they do not know how they are going to get out of there.
She also added that the snow can be very beautiful however, spending the night trapped in a car due to that thing, is definitely not fun.
Fernando Grande-Marlaska, the Interior Minister shared that as of Saturday evening, Spanish security services had rescued all the individuals who were trapped in vehicles, over 1,500.
Read Also: FBI Offers $50K Reward for DC Pipe Bombers, Release Photo of Suspect
The weather agency AEMET also warned that a number of regions would be receiving more than 24 hours of continuous snowfall due to the unusual combination of a cold air mass stagnant over the arrival of the warmer Storm Filomena from the south and the Iberian Peninsula.
José Luis ábalos, the Transport Minister also warned the public that the snow is going to turn into ice and the situation will be more dangerous compared to what they are currently experiencing.
The Transport Minister also emphasized that the priority was to assist those in need but also to ensure the supply chain for food and other basic goods, Sky News reported.
Related News: DC Protest Aftermath: Protesters Identified Start Losing Their Jobs
