Hurricane "Lorenzo", which has since passed over the Azores Islands in the night from Tuesday to Wednesday last week, caused more severe damage than initially suspected, particularly on the two outer of the nine Portuguese Atlantic islands. While the main island of São Miguel was only grazed by the storm, the western islands were hit with the full force of the storm.
The island of Corvo in particular, whose settlement of Vila do Corvo is one of the smallest towns in Europe with just under 450 inhabitants, and the island of Flores, just 15 kilometres away, were devastated by the hurricane. Even a few days after the storm, the island of Corvo was still completely cut off from the outside world. On Flores, the larger of the two western islands with just under 3,800 inhabitants, power and telephone services were cut off. In particular, the harbour there, which also supplies the island of Corvo, was not spared. As German sailors reported on site, it was completely destroyed and the ships that were in the harbour during the hurricane sank. "It's millions in damage that will take years to rebuild," Volker Christmann, a passionate sailor and expert on the Azores, told YACHT online.
Power of the storm also felt on Faial
Lorenzo" was also clearly felt in the harbour of Horta on the island of Faial. A German sailor who had moored his yacht in the furthest corner of the harbour, which was considered very safe during the hurricane, was really shaken up during the night of the storm. However, apart from a torn rubbing strake, his boat was spared any damage.
A few hundred metres away, people were not so lucky: a road there was completely washed away by waves up to 15 metres high. Several houses were severely damaged and the residents had to be evacuated during the night.
The main island of São Miguel escaped with a black eye in comparison; "Lorenzo" had merely passed by there. There was talk of a "normal winter storm" with winds of up to force seven, with no reports of injuries.
The hurricane, which is no longer classified as such by meteorologists, continued to move towards the British and Irish coasts. It is the most severe hurricane recorded so far east and so far north in the Atlantic. This makes it the first hurricane of the highest category to pass so close to Europe.
