Wind causes weekend of chaos on Costa Blanca

STRONG winds wreaked havoc across the province as gusts of up to 100 kilometres an hour struck at the weekend.

Villena Town Hall closed schools and sent around 2,500 students home as falling trees, lampposts and an overturned truck on the Alicante-Alcoy road caused problems.

In Alicante City, firefighters were called out to deal with awnings, windows and fences that had blown down.

Further down the coast and Rojales and Guardamar del Segura recorded gusts of 68 and 66 kilometres per hour.

The wind caused problems in Orihuela, where 30 stallholders at the medieval market event had to close after suffering damage to their infrastructure and merchandise. Four palm trees fell and many branches were removed.

In Rafal and Callosa de Segura fallen trees forced the intervention of police who had to redirect traffic as they were removed.