“It was a snow tsunami that tripled our worst forecasts.” This is the diagnosis of the young mayor of Madrid, José Luis Martínez-Almeida, who, in the process, recommended to his constituents to “Stay at home, as far as possible and avoid all unnecessary travel”. In reality, this snowstorm which fell as part of the depression called “Filomena” raging these days greatly exceeds the capital since it keeps ten provinces on red alert, from Castile-La Mancha to Valencia. This storm is the most violent recorded in the last fifty years, said the Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska.
While most transport was at a standstill (Madrid’s Barajas airport, rail and road traffic – only the metro continues to operate), the storm gave rise to surreal, and bucolic scenes, such as see skiers sliding down the main arteries, people
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François Musseau correspondent in Madrid
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