Spain and France were also on the alert for a storm expected to bring hurricane force winds of up to 160 kilometres (100 miles) an hour over the weekend.

Thick fog shrouded the airport on Madeira Friday, causing flights to the tourist island off northwest Africa be cancelled or diverted, airport sources said.

Spain's national weather service said the storm was developing in the Atlantic west of the Madeira archipelago and was expected to hit the Spanish Canary Islands overnight before reaching the mainland early on Saturday.

Deputy Prime Minister Maria Teresa de la Vega appealed for calm and urged Spaniards to follow instructions given by the authorities and "avoid any type of risks" during the storm.

"It is true that an intense storm with strong winds is approaching but the authorities are on alert and all adequate measures have been taken," she told a news conference following a weekly cabinet meeting.

The northern regions of Galicia, Castilla y Leon and Cantabria were expected to face the brunt of the storm with winds of between 120 and 160 kilometres an hour forecast.

The national weather service raised the alert level for the three regions to "red", the highest on its four-level scale, which indicates "major damage and accidents are likely, in many cases with threat to life and limb".

The French weather service Meteo France issued a similar warning, saying the storm was expected to cross the country from west to east during Saturday night and Sunday with gusts of up to 120 kilometres and hour.

Meteo France also advised people to limit their journeys and avoid the threatened areas where possible.

Madeira is still reeling from the flash floods sparked by heavy rains that wrecked the centre of the capital Funchal, causing damage which the head of the local government, Alberto Joao Jardim, put late Thursday at more than one billion euros.

Jardim said 41 people were confirmed dead and 18 still missing.

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