Bob James’ Spanish News Headlines – Visual format – Dateline: 16/02/26 – Latest
Just days after Storm Nils, Oriana hit over the weekend with torrential rain and strong winds, disrupting trains and public transport.
With powerful gusts of up to 166 km/h, Storm Oriana tore through eastern, northern and soutnerh areas of the country.
Local officials reported disruption to transport across the Basque Coast, Valencia, Mallorca, Andalusia and Barcelona and emergency services carried out the evacuation of more than 3,000 people.
Images on social media showed trees falling under strong winds and emergency personnel responding throughout impacted areas.
Authorities issued a red alert in the province of Castellón as “hurricane-force” winds swept through the region.
The storms have so far killed three people in France and Spain and left dozens more injured in extreme-weather-related accidents.
A powerful earthquake struck the province of Almeria early this morning which jolted residents awake and sent tremors across multiple provinces.
According to the National Geographic Institute the quake registered 4.5 at 00.55am local time with its epicentre near Tabernas, close to the famous Tabernas Desert solar plant. The shallow depth made the quake very noticeable and was felt in over a hundred villages and towns.
Just minutes after the main quake five aftershocks were felt.
Only three days earlier a milder 3.2 magnitude quake hit the region.
The government say’s will invest 700 million euros to support electric vehicle adoption and reinforce the automotive industry,
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said 400 million euros will be allocated next year to subsidise EV purchases, while 300 million will be used to expand charging infrastructure in areas with limited coverage.
The government will streamline licensing for new charging points and has launched an online platform to help users locate existing stations. Sanchez said the measures are aimed at making electric cars more competitive and affordable.
The announcement comes as the European Union targets an end to sales of new combustion-engine vehicles by 2035, a goal that has faced delays due to gaps in charging networks and concerns from parts of the auto industry.
Spain, Europe’s second-largest car producer after Germany, already has more than 40,000 public charging stations and is working towards a full shift to electric mobility by 2050, Sanchez said.
That’s the latest from TRE, I’m Bob James.
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