Much of Europe has been dealing with freak weather this summer as climate change begins to take hold of the world. In Spain, a one-year-old girl was killed when struck with a massive hail stone during a storm that injured about seventy people. As the four-inch hailstones rained down on the Catalan town of La Bisbal de l’Emporda, some people suffered from broken bones and other serious injuries while the one-year-old girl was struck dead from the ice falling from the sky.
The toddler who died was one of the sixty-seven people who suffered injuries during the hailstorm. As a country, Spain continues to face shocking weather, including wildfires that have ripped through much of the country’s beautiful countryside.
After the little girl was hit with the four-inch hail stone, she was rushed to a hospital named Josep Trueta Hospital in Girona. That was on Tuesday afternoon. By early Wednesday morning, the young victim had died as the result of the severe head trauma that was caused by the ice falling from the Spanish sky.
Meanwhile, another woman who was also hurt during the hailstorm remained at the same hospital on Wednesday.
Many of the other victims of the freak hailstorm were treated by medical professionals. According to a report published by Daily Mail, the victims of this hailstorm suffered from head injuries and cuts from the ice. Some people needed stitches, while others needed to have their bones reset after suffering from broken bones during the hailstorm.
The hailstones were as large as tennis balls and damaged many buildings, structures, and vehicles. The hail also damaged solar panels and smashed tile that had been installed on patios and driveways.
According to Catalan weather chiefs, the massive hailstones that fell on Tuesday were the largest on record in the last twenty years. The damage occurred near the town of Girona, which is located near Spain’s border with France.
The shocking downpour of hailstones began around 7:30 pm on Tuesday. The twenty-month-old girl who died as a result of the severe head trauma was hit by a hailstone shortly after they began falling at 7:30 pm. The hailstorm lasted for about fifteen minutes before it subsided.
In the wake of the freak hailstorm, many people have taken to social media to share photos and videos of the large chunks of ice that fell from the sky. One video that was shared on Twitter shows a man scooping up a large hailstone in a bucket.
While most people were able to take shelter from the hailstorm, the one-year-old girl who died did not have that chance. The little girl was hit by a hailstone as she sat in her stroller. Her mother was also injured in the hailstorm but is expected to make a full recovery after suffering from injuries.
The young victim’s death has sparked outrage on social media, with many people calling for an investigation into the freak hailstorm. Some people are also calling for better warning systems to be put in place so that people can take shelter when severe weather hits.