Moment tourists run for cover as freak ‘Satan’s Storm’ lashes Spanish beach – while country battles wildfires in 45C heatwave and Portuguese villagers resort to fighting blazes themselves

Europe has been rocked by yet more wild weather extremes with a ‘Satan’s Storm’ lashing a Spanish beach and Portuguese villagers tackling infernos themselves as blazing fires ravage parts of the country.

In one of several terrifying weather events to sweep the continent in recent days, panicked tourists were left sprinting for cover from a rare and intense heat burst in near-hurricane force winds in southern Spain‘s Costa Granadina.

In dramatic footage, holidaymakers were seen running from the Satan’s Storm – an atmospheric phenomenon characterised by a sudden, localised increase in air temperature near the Earth’s surface – as sunshades and pool loungers were sent flying across the beach.

Bikini-clad sunseekers filmed themselves shielding their eyes as sand swirled around them and umbrellas trembled in the ferocious winds. 

At least five people had to be rescued after getting into difficulties in the water as inflatable dinghies and longboards were dragged out to sea.

Two tornados and waterspouts formed during the heat burst, which affected resorts such as Motril and Almunecar south of Granada yesterday evening.

Motril was one of the places hardest hit, with footage of the damage caused showing a fibre-glass swimming pool on the roof of an apartment block being blown to the ground. 

Spanish weather agency Aemet confirmed on X: ‘The temperature rose rapidly to 40C at 7.50pm, accompanied by very strong gusts of wind that reached 53mph.’

Motril’s mayor Luisa Garcia Chamorro, sounding a warning on social media just after 8pm, said: ‘Attention. We are experiencing what is known as a heat burst with very strong, almost hurricane winds.

‘We recommend you don’t leave your homes or remain on the street. Exercise maximum caution.’ 

Before the evacuation order most people had already abandoned beaches, with visibility reduced to near-zero as the high winds left many caught in the middle of a sandstorm and forced to cover their faces with their hands as they headed for safety.

Witness Laura Bueno, speaking about the situation at Torrenueva Beach where some of the rescues took place, said: ‘What a scare. A heat burst swept away chairs and sunshades.

‘It was a hot wind like the winds from the Sahara Desert. It knocked over containers and blew everything into the sea. Children and adults suffered panic attacks.’

One shocked local added: ‘I don’t remember seeing such a rapid weather change in such a short space of time.’

It comes as the country battles the worst wildfires in its history, as an unrelenting 45C heatwave sweeps through the holiday hotspot.

The devastating wildfires have scorched almost 300,000 acres across multiple regions, claiming four lives including a firefighter. 

The infernos have ravaged provinces in Asturias, Castilla y León, Extremadura, and Galicia, leading to widespread road and rail closures. 

By Monday, the raging fires had spread to the southern slopes of the Picos de Europa mountain range and authorities closed part of the popular Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route. 

‘This is a fire situation we haven’t experienced in 20 years,’ Defence Minister Margarita Robles told radio station Cadena SER. ‘The fires have special characteristics as a result of climate change and this huge heatwave.’ 

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced on Sunday that Spain is sending an additional 500 troops to the previous 1,400 to fight the fierce flames as officials battled to suppress the 20 major wildfires across the country.

‘There are still some challenging days ahead, and unfortunately, the weather is not on our side,’ Sanchez said at a news conference on Sunday in Ourense, one of the most affected areas, in northwestern Spain. 

He announced an increase in military reinforcements, bringing the total number of soldiers deployed across Spain to 1,900.

Sanchez said the ongoing operations by emergency personnel was ‘probably’ the largest European civil protection mobilisation in history. 

He also said the Spanish government would propose a state pact to adapt the country to climate change. 

Firefighters are still tackling 12 major wildfires in the northwestern region of Galicia alone, all of them near the city of Ourense, the head of the Galician regional government Alfonso Rueda also said during the news conference.

‘Homes are still under threat, so we have lockdowns in place and are carrying out evacuations,’ Rueda said.

The announcements came as authorities awaited the arrival of promised aircraft reinforcements from other European countries. 

Meanwhile, in Portugal, a massive fire tornado was whipped up during a large forest fire that struck the Aguiar da Beira area on Sunday.

The rare weather phenomenon – which occurs in intense heat when the air surrounding a fire begins to rotate into a vortex –  was seen in apocalyptic footage blasting an orange column into the sky.

Black smoke filled the air above the burning area as the sky shines a fluorescent orange from the gargantuan flames. 

Almost 4,000 firefighters have been deployed across different areas in the country as the government extended its high risk alert until Sunday.

Two firefighters were killed during rescue efforts at around 7pm yesterday in the village of São Francisco de Assis, as the crew rushed to tackle a blaze in Quinta do Campo, Fundão.

Three more were left fighting for their lives after their vehicle veered off the road and plunged into a ravine. One injured firefighter was airlifted by a helicopter.

The National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority paid tribute to the firefighters, saying: ‘It is never enough to emphasize the commitment, altruism and professionalism with which, every day, thousands of firefighters across the country dedicate themselves, with courage and dedication, to defending the population and the forest against fires.’ 

Carlos Damaso, a former mayor of the town of Vila Franca do Deao, tragically died while helping to fight a blaze. His body was recovered on Friday. 

In Italy, spooked tourists ran for cover from uprooted beach umbrellas during a violent storm, which also sent deckchairs and sunbeds flying above their heads. 

A waterspout – a rotating column of air and water – hit the coast of Porto Cesareo, Lecce, on Saturday, following a heavy downpour of rain just days after the country boiled in 40C heat. 

Footage of the incident saw dozens of pieces of sun-lounging equipment being blown across the ground in ferocious winds while umbrellas soared into the air above two terrified tourists.

According to local reports there were no serious injuries, but some sunseekers suffered minor bruises.

It comes just weeks after Italian firefighters extinguished a blaze that burned for five days on the famed Mount Vesuvius and spewed plumes of smoke over the Naples area. 

Greece, Cyprus, Turkey, and Bulgaria are all also still reeling from the deadly fires that have sprung up this summer.

The most deadly of the European fires, however, have stemmed from Turkey.

At least 17 people have been killed in the apocalyptic wildfires as record-breaking 50C heat and howling winds fuel devastation across the eastern Mediterranean.

The infernos have forced more than 3,500 residents to flee their homes, with vast swathes of forest reduced to ash.

Ten rescue volunteers and forestry workers lost their lives in a blaze in Eskisehir last week, while four more died outside Bursa over the weekend.

Two volunteer firefighters succumbed to injuries after being pulled from an overturned water tanker. Another worker died at the scene and a firefighter suffered a fatal heart attack on Sunday.

Turkey’s forestry minister Ibrahim Yumakli confirmed that crews battled at least 44 separate fires on Sunday alone, declaring the western provinces of Izmir and Bilecik disaster areas.

It comes after sunseekers were left fleeing Greece’s Zakynthos and Kefalonia islands ‘by the minute’ as raging infernos ripped through the Med last week.  

By Wednesday, 4,850 firefighters backed by the army and 33 planes were mobilised across Greece on what promised to be ‘a very difficult day’, fire service spokesman Vassilis Vathrakogiannis said.

In popular party-resort Laganas, officials ordered young Brit revellers to leave hotels as a ‘precautionary measure’ after the fires shot clouds of black smoke over the area.

‘It’s a cocktail of high temperatures, strong winds… and minimal humidity,’ the head of civil protection for Western Greece, Nikos Gyftakis, told public broadcaster ERT.

One local official spoke of ‘an unending nightmare’ as a blaze near the ancient Mycenaean archaeological site of Voudeni, just four miles from Patras, Greece’s third-largest city, threatened forested zones and homes, while 7,700 people were evacuated from a nearby town.  

Fire brigade spokesperson, Vasillis Vathrakogiannis said: ‘It will be another very difficult day, as the wildfire risk for most of the country’s regions will be very high.’

In a scene he likened to ‘doomsday’, Giorgos Karavanis, a volunteer firefighter said: ‘We came from Athens with our volunteer association Kleisthenis, we can’t do anything more.

He added: ‘May God help us and help people here.’ 

In the Balkans, dozens of blazes stretched emergency services last week, where a severe drought and a prolonged heatwave exacerbated the region’s traditional fire season.

An 80-year-old man died in Albania late last Tuesday after he lost control of a fire he had started in his garden. The blaze quickly spread to neighbouring homes, injuring eight people.

Authorities evacuated residents in parts of central and southern Albania, but easing weather conditions in neighbouring Montenegro helped firefighters protect homes.