Thousands evacuated as storm hits Spain, Portugal

A storm unleashing up to 35 centimetres (14 inches) of rain in 24 hours battered the Iberian Peninsula on Wednesday, forcing thousands of people in southern Spain from their homes, shutting schools and cancelling trains. Andalusia's top emergency official, Antonio Sanz, told a press conference that the situation was "very worrying" in the nearby mountainous municipality of Grazalema, where AEMET predicted up to 35 centimetres of rain in 24 hours.