Portugal closes all schools and non-essential services due to a major Atlantic storm

LISBON, Portugal (AP) — Portugal closed all schools and shuttered non-essential public services on Wednesday as a major Atlantic storm barreled into the country's mainland, but the bad weather passed without causing major damage.

Streets were largely deserted when Storm Charles arrived, because the government had told people to stay at home, fearing the worst, though the winds and rain that battered the country weren't as destructive as expected.

It was the first time in living memory that Portugal’s roughly 8,000 schools had canceled classes nationwide over a storm forecast.

More than 300 flights at four international airports were canceled due to the driving rain and high winds, authorities said.

The national weather agency, IPMA, recorded wind gusts of over 120 kph (75 mph) in some areas.

Buses without passengers drove through the country's capital, Lisbon, where some streets flooded due to clogged drains. A national supermarket chain closed its stores, while an international technology conference in Lisbon attended by around 70,000 people called off the day's events.

The storm didn't pack as big a punch as authorities had feared, however, and by mid-afternoon only the southern Algarve region, a popular European tourist destination, remained on red alert, the highest level of emergency warning which initially had covered more than half of the country.

Storm Charles had struck the Portuguese island of Madeira, off northwest Africa, on Tuesday with 130 kph (81 mph) winds.

Prime Minister Luís Montenegro chaired a crisis unit along with eight government ministers and other officials to monitor the storm.

Interior Minister Luís Neves, who oversees public safety, dismissed suggestions that authorities had overreacted, saying the government organized its response in accordance with the weather forecast.

In January, the government faced harsh criticism for its weak preparations and response when Storm Kristin hit central Portugal, felling thousands of trees and causing widespread property damage that is still being repaired.

Storm Charles was forecast to head later into Spain, where workers staged a general strike Wednesday. Strike organizers canceled or postponed demonstrations in some southern cities, including Córdoba, Huelva and Cádiz.