Storm Eunice has put life on hold in parts of Britain with the army on standby and schools closed after a rare red weather warning was issued for London and eastern England, reports Asian Lite News
The UK’s meteorological service has issued a rare red weather warning with Storm Eunice packing wind gusts of 160km (100 miles) per hour and set to cause “danger to life”.
The storm is currently making its way across the Atlantic, and is expected to cause “significant disruption and dangerous conditions due to extremely strong winds” when it makes landfall on Friday, the Met Office said.
Ireland’s meteorological office also issued an alert for Storm Eunice, warning of “severe and damaging winds” and the possibility of coastal flooding.
Another storm, Dudley, caused transport disruption when it hit the UK on Wednesday, although damage was not widespread.
The government announced on Thursday that it was holding a meeting of its emergency Civil Contingencies Committee (COBR) to discuss the response to the two storms.
The Met Office warned that roofs could be blown off, trees uprooted and power lines brought down when Eunice arrives, with southwest England expected to bear the brunt.
Roads, bridges and railway lines are also likely to be closed, causing delays and cancellations to bus, train and ferry services as well as flights.
The red warning, which is issued when dangerous weather is expected, is in place for parts of Cornwall, on England’s southwest coast, and south Wales.
Some rail passengers have already been urged by train operators not to travel on Friday.
Flights cancelled, alert sounded
The Dutch flagship airline KLM said it had cancelled 167 flights scheduled for Friday over a looming storm.
“Due to stormy weather in Amsterdam on Thursday 17 February and Friday 18 February 2022, our flights to, from, or via Amsterdam Airport Schiphol may be disrupted,” the company said in a statement, adding that 167 flights had been cancelled.
On Thursday, the meteorological service of the Netherlands issued a warning over the storm Eunice, which is expected to hit the country on Friday.
The speed of the wind currently reaches 139 kilometres per hour (86 miles per hour) in some parts of the country.
Army on standby
Storm Eunice has put life on hold in parts of Britain with the army on standby and schools closed after a rare red weather warning was issued for London and eastern England. The warning is in place from 7 am to 12 pm Friday.
The Red Weather Warning for wind covers southwest coastal areas of the UK, where the most significant gusts in exposed areas could be in excess of 90mph from early Friday morning, the British Met Office said in a statement.
“Further inland and within the wider Amber Warning area, gusts will still be significant and damaging for many, with 70-80mph gusts possible. With such severe weather impacting the UK, people should stay up to date with the latest warnings as they could be updated,” it added.
The Met office rarely issues red weather warnings — the previous ones were issued during Storm Arwen in November 2021 and prior to that in March 2018.
An emergency meeting was held to discuss the storm response and Prime Minister Boris Johnson said “the army is on standby” for further support as needed.
The warnings reflect the expected track of Storm Eunice eastwards across the central portion of the UK, with the strongest winds expected to the south of Eunice, the weather officials added.
“Strong winds could bring coastal flooding to parts of the west, southwest and south coast of England, as well as the tidal River Severn, in the early hours of Friday morning. This is due to Storm Eunice resulting in high waves and potential storm surge coinciding with the start of a period of spring tides,” said Katharine Smith, Environment Agency Flood Duty Manager.
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