Nearly 200,000 UK homes still without power after Storm Eunice

Fierce Atlantic storm brought record winds, knocking 1.4 million households off the grid the day before.

Pedestrians struggle against the wind and rain in London, UK
Pedestrians struggle against the wind and rain in London, UK, a day after Storm Eunice battered the capital [Tolga Akmen/AFP]

Nearly 200,000 British homes are still without power after Storm Eunice left a deadly trail across Europe and left transport networks in disarray.

The fierce Atlantic storm brought record winds of up to 196km/h (122 mph) to the United Kingdom, killing at least four people and causing widespread disruption. At least six more deaths were reported in Ireland, Belgium and the Netherlands.

The UK Business and Energy Minister Kwasi Kwarteng said power had been restored to 1.2 million households but 190,000 customers remained without supply.

Earlier, the UK’s Energy Networks Association said that at 7:30GMT about 226,000 customers were without power, mostly across southern England but also in the east of the country and southern Wales.

“Strong winds across southern England are impacting restoration efforts,” Kwarteng said. “We expect most customers to have supplies restored promptly,” he added.

Nearly one million homes lost power in November when a storm hit northeast 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.

Damage is seen to the O2 Arena roof caused by heavy winds in London
The storm damaged the O2 Arena roof in London, UK [Andy Rain/EPA-EFE]

Train operators in the UK urged people not to travel, with trees still blocking several lines after most of the network was shut down.

In Brentwood, east of London, a 400-year-old tree crashed into a house and bedroom where 23-year-old Sven Good was working from home, as millions of other Britons heeded government advice to stay indoors.

Good said he heard a “creak and then a massive bang and the whole house just shuddered”.

“I could feel the whole roof going above me. It was absolutely terrifying,” he told Sky News, adding that none of the occupants was injured.

Eunice sparked the first-ever “red” weather warning for London on Friday. It was one of the most powerful tempests in Europe since the “Great Storm” hit the UK and northern France in 1987.

Scientists said both storms packed a “sting jet”, a rarely seen meteorological phenomenon borne out of an unusual confluence of pressure systems in the Atlantic that magnified the effects of Eunice.

The Met Office, the UK’s meteorological service, on Saturday issued a less-severe “yellow” wind warning for much of the south coast of England and South Wales, which it said “could hamper recovery efforts from Storm Eunice”.

The UK’s total bill for damage could exceed 300 million pounds ($410m), according to the Association of British Insurers, based on repairs from previous storms.

Source: News Agencies