London, UK
Reuters
An Atlantic storm battered northwestern European on Friday with record winds of up to 122 miles per hour, killing at least nine people, knocking out power for tens of thousands and shredding the roof of London’s O2 arena.
Storm Eunice, which brewed in the central Atlantic and was spun up from the Azores towards Europe by the jet stream, posed a danger to life, Britain’s Meteorological Office said.
The white-domed roof of the O2 arena is seen damaged by the wind, as a red weather warning was issued due to Storm Eunice, in London, Britain, on 18th February. PICTURE: Reuters/May James.
The storm hit western England, making landfall in Cornwall, where waves lashed the coast, sending plumes of spray over the roofs of cottages, Reuters pictures showed
A woman was killed in London when a car in which she was travelling was crushed by a tree and a man in a vehicle in Liverpool died due to flying debris. Another man died after a vehicle collided with a fallen tree in the southern English county of Hampshire.
In the Netherlands, four people were killed by toppled trees. In Belgium, high winds brought a crane down onto the roof of a hospital and a British man died after being blown from his boat into the water.
A man died in Ireland after being struck by a falling tree while clearing storm debris, RTE reported.
High winds in London shredded the white domed roof of the O2 arena which has hosted stars from The Rolling Stones to Beyonce and Rihanna. Tall buildings in London trembled as wind whistled through Canary Wharf.
In Wales, waves crashed over Aberystwyth promenade, some as high as houses. More than 100,000 people were hit by power cuts as lines were torn down and ancient trees keeled over.
“Storm Eunice is really packing a punch,” Met Office Chief Meteorologist Frank Saunders said. “We only issue red weather warnings when we think there is a threat to life from the weather.”
The Met Office said a gust of 196 kph was recorded at The Needles on the Isle of Wight, provisionally a record for the most powerful gust ever recorded in England.
Later on Friday, the Met Office said the fiercest winds from the storm were heading towards Scandinavia and northern mainland Europe where warnings had been issued.
Planes were buffeted so strongly by gusts at some British airports that pilots were forced to abandon landings. A live stream of Heathrow Airport’s runway was being watched by more than 200,000 people online.
A total of 436 flights were cancelled across the United Kingdom amid record winds from storm Eunice, according to Cirium data.
Troops on standby
More than 100,000 buildings were left without power, distributors said. Ferries and trains were cancelled.
“Storm Eunice – There will be NO Transport for Wales trains running on this date,” an announcement board said at Aberystwyth station. All trains in Kent, southern England, were cancelled.
“We are closing all routes in Kent, and all lines in SE London are blocked by trees,” Network Rail Kent & Sussex said. “Please do not travel.”
BA said it was cancelling a number of flights and that there would be significant disruption.
Danish ferry operator DFDS said in a statement posted on Twitter that its ferries between Dover and Calais have been suspended due to high winds.
In the Netherlands, Schiphol airport cancelled about 390 flights, a spokesperson said.
Off the Belgian coast, two ships, one tanker and one cargo, were at one point adrift and got stuck in a windfarm. The cargo was safely towed away, without causing any damage, the tanker, carrying 31,000 tons of fuel, was still waiting for help.
Britain’s security minister, Damian Hinds, said troops were on standby to deal with the consequences of the weather.
“We should all follow the advice and take precautions to keep safe,” Prime Minister Boris Johnson said. “I thank responders for all their efforts.”
People take pictures as waves break on during Storm Eunice, in Brighton, Britain, on 18th February. PICTURE: Reuters/Peter Nicholls
Around 155,000 British homes were still without power late on Saturday after Storm Eunice knocked more than 1.3 million households off the grid the day before, energy companies said.
Britain’s Energy Networks Association, an umbrella group for power and gas companies, said 1.22 million customers out of the roughly 1.3 million affected by the storm had been reconnected as of 4pm on Saturday.
However 155,000 remained without power, mostly across southern England but also in the east of the country and in south Wales. At the start of the day, 226,000 lacked electricity.
“Strong winds across southern England are impacting restoration efforts,” business and energy minister Kwasi Kwarteng said earlier in the day. “We expect most customers to have supplies restored promptly,” he added.
British energy companies have faced criticism after previous storms for being slow to reconnect more isolated properties.
Nearly one million homes lost power in November when a storm hit north-east England and eastern Scotland.
While power was restored to the vast majority of homes within 48 hours, more than 3,000 households did not regain access to mains power for a week or more, prompting the government to order a review of utility firms’ preparedness.
– With DAVID MILLIKEN
