Madrid, collapsed by a powerful storm that has covered it with snow

USPA NEWS - A powerful storm, baptized by the meteorological services with the name of Filomena, has kept Madrid collapsed since noon on Friday. The capital of Spain is covered with a layer of snow measuring 60 centimeters - 23.622 inches - which prevents the circulation of vehicles, has forced the suspension of transport and keeps parents and teachers in suspense before the more than probable postponement of the start of classes in schools after the Christmas holidays.

Up to 1,500 trucks are trapped in the Spanish provinces of Guadalajara and Ávila, bordering Madrid, and numerous roads are closed. The Adolfo Suárez airport in Madrid suspended all its operations this Saturday, as well as the state railway company Renfe, which suspended all trains to and from Madrid. The City Council of the capital suspended urban transport and the garbage collection service, indefinitely due to the intensity of the storm.

According to meteorological services, Filomena is the result of the conjunction between a wave of polar cold that affects Spain - up to 19.4 degrees Fahrenheit - and the humid air that comes from the South Atlantic. The storm is sweeping Spain from south to north and from west to east. Except for Galicia, in the extreme north-west of the Iberian Peninsula, and Asturias, adjacent to it, where the storm is leaving heavy rains, the rest of Spain is under snow. However, in no other place than in Madrid has the storm caused so much damage to economic activity and the movement of citizens.

The Military Emergency Unit was deployed in the capital of Spain on Friday, to help in the rescue of Madrid residents trapped in their cars. Hundreds of drivers spent the night from Friday to Saturday in their vehicles, waiting for the roads to clear. Some of these drivers told Spanish public television that there were small children in some vehicles and reported that no emergency service provided them with water or blankets to spend the night.

The mayor of Madrid, José Luis Martínez Almeida, made this Saturday an appeal for the people of Madrid to stay at home, given the risk of accidents. "We are in an emergency situation, it is dangerous to be in the street due to the weight of snow on trees, ledges and ice that is forming," said the mayor. The municipal services have been working since Friday, pouring salt into the streets to prevent the formation of ice sheets, but the heavy snow that continues to fall in Madrid makes their effort useless. The Paseo de la Castellana, one of the most important streets in the capital, which crosses from north to south, appeared this Saturday covered by 60 centimeters of snow and the sidewalks were not distinguishable.

It had been 50 years, since 1971, that it had not snowed in Madrid with the intensity of this weekend. The Spanish Meteorological Agency expects that the storm will remain on the vertical of Spain until this Sunday night, although its effects will continue to be noticed until, at least, next Tuesday. The Spanish say that a year of snow is a year of goods, but for now, Filomena has paralyzed the activity of the capital and has hurt its economy.