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A crew member works on a C-17 Globemaster III, April 4, 2022, at Naval Station Rota, Spain. Unexpectedly high winds affected Air Mobility Command aircraft on the Rota flight line early Wednesday, Dec. 14.

A crew member works on a C-17 Globemaster III, April 4, 2022, at Naval Station Rota, Spain. Unexpectedly high winds affected Air Mobility Command aircraft on the Rota flight line early Wednesday, Dec. 14. (Faith Schaefer/U.S. Air Force)

An unexpectedly severe storm packing high winds at Naval Station Rota in Spain impacted three U.S. Air Force cargo planes and damaged the roof at the base gym, military officials said Wednesday.

Two C-5M Super Galaxy and one C-17 Globemaster III aircraft, operated by the U.S. Air Force’s 521st Air Mobility Operations Wing, “were affected by the high winds while parked on the ramp,” Air Force Capt. Emma Quirk, a wing spokeswoman, said in an email statement.

The severity of Storm Efrain’s impact on the planes was unclear Wednesday.

No injuries were reported, wing officials said.

Hundreds across the country were evacuated from homes as Efrain brought hurricane-force winds and torrential downpours to Spain’s southern regions of Extremadura, Castilla-La Mancha and Andalusia.

Storm winds also rerouted traffic near the gym, aquatic center, post office and other community facilities, Naval Station Rota said Wednesday on its Facebook page.

Damage estimates on base were not immediately available.

“The 725th Air Mobility Squadron is working diligently with home stations and host installation entities to assess the damage and coordinate recovery operations,” Quirk said.

Stars and Stripes reporter Alison Bath contributed to this report.

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Alexander reports on the U.S. military and local news in Europe for Stars and Stripes in Kaiserslautern, Germany. He has 10 years experience as an Air Force photojournalist covering operations in Timor-Leste, Guam and the Middle East. He graduated from Penn State University and is a Defense Information School alumnus.

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