STORM EUNICE DEATH TOLL RISES TO NINE AS FIERCE WINDS EXCEED FORECASTS. BATTERING UK AND...
0Storm Eunice death toll rises to nine as fierce winds exceed forecasts. battering UK and parts of Europe
At least nine people have died after the second major storm in a week smashed through the UK and northern Europe as high winds felled trees. cancelled flights and train services and ripped sections off the roof of London's O2 Arena. Key points: It is the first time UK authorities issued a rare 'red warning' for London. warning Storm Eunice posed a danger to life British police say Storm Eunice. known as Storm Zeynep in Germany. killed at least three people in the UK. One man was killed when debris struck his windscreen in north west England. a woman died in London when a tree fell on a car and another man in southern England was killed when a car hit a tree. In the Netherlands. firefighters said three people were killed by falling trees in and around Amsterdam. and a fourth died in the northern province of Groningen after driving his car into a fallen tree. In neighbouring Belgium. a 79 year old English man died after being pushed from his boat by strong winds. In County Wexford. Ireland. a local government worker was killed as he responded to the scene of a fallen tree. the local council said. Strongest ever wind surpasses forecast Britain's weather service had warned of dangerous conditions. forecasting gusts exceeding 144 kilometres per hour in highly exposed coastal areas. The Met Office later said a 196kph gust was recorded on the Isle of Wight and is provisionally the strongest ever wind recorded in England. Loading Authorities there then took the unusual step of issuing 'red' warnings — indicating a danger to life — for parts of south west England between 7am and noon and for south east England and London from 10am until 3pm. 'After the impacts from Storm Dudley for many on Wednesday. Storm Eunice will bring damaging gusts in what could be one of the most impactful storms to affect southern and central parts of the UK for a few years.' said Paul Gundersen. the Met Office's chief meteorologist. A lower level amber warning for gusts up to 128kph covered the whole of England from 5am to 9pm. London Mayor Sadiq Khan urged those in the capital to stay home. 'It is the first time ever the Met office has issued a red weather warning in our capital city... I urge all Londoners to stay at home. do not take risks. and do not travel unless it is absolutely essential.' Mr Khan said. 'I think us erring on the side of caution hopefully will lead to the situation where there aren't examples of people being injured or. even worse. losing their lives.' Flights cancelled. trains halted A number of tourist attractions in England. including the London Eye. Legoland and Warwick Castle. were closed ahead of the storm. 'The Royal Parks have closed all the parks they are responsible for.' Mr Khan said. 'We have also had all the tourist attractions that have been closed for the day. There were no flights from City Airport. Flights from Heathrow and Gatwick have been delayed.' Even before the forecast high winds arrived. Eunice was already wreaking havoc with travel across southern England and Wales with many train services interrupted and numerous flights cancelled. A total of 436 flights were cancelled across the United Kingdom with 20 per cent of flight cancellations to and from Heathrow Airport – making it the hardest hit UK airport for cancellations. The English Channel port of Dover was shut down. bridges linking England and Wales were closed and most trains in and out of London were halted. The winds were so strong that part of the roof on London's O2 Arena was ripped off and firefighters evacuated 1.000 people from the area. Eunice is the second named storm to hit Europe in two days. with the first storm killing at least five people in Germany and Poland. Peter Inness. a meteorologist at the University of Reading in England. attributed the storms to an unusually strong jet stream over the eastern Atlantic Ocean. with winds close to 321kph at high altitudes. The Dutch weather institute issued its...
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