With the worst still to come, strong winds from the tail end of the downgraded Hurricane Kirk have caused significant damage and cancelled flights in parts of Spain.

The remnants of Hurricane Kirk churned across western Europe on Wednesday, ripping up trees in Spain and Portugal and drenching France.

After leaving power cuts and uprooted trees in its wake throughout Western Europe, Hurricane Kirk reached Southern France, producing torrential rain that killed one amateur sailor in the French port city of Sète and prompted authorities to put all French departments on orange alert.