LONDON, England: With winds measured at 122 mph, northern Europe endured a second major storm in three days, leaving nine dead.
Reports of damage included trees ripped from the ground, cancelled train services and roofs ripped from homes and buildings, including London’s O2 Arena.
The U.K. weather service measured winds at 122 mph on the Isle of Wight as Storm Eunice struck the southern UK. This was the strongest wind ever recorded.
The storm also caused high wind warnings in Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark and Germany.
The storm closed the English Channel port of Dover, along with bridges linking England and Wales, and halting most trains in and out of London.
Fatalities were recorded in Britain, when a man in southern England was killed when his car hit a tree, along with another man whose windshield was struck by debris in northwest England and a woman in London whose car was struck by a falling tree, according to police.
In the Netherlands, three people were struck and killed by falling trees in the Amsterdam-area. A fourth person died when he drove his car into a fallen tree.
In Belgium, an elderly man was reported to have died when high winds pushed him into a canal in Ypres.
Also, a government worker in Ireland was killed as he drove to the scene of a fallen tree.
A storm earlier in the week swept through Europe, killing five people in Germany and Poland.
“A strong jet stream like this can act like a production line for storms, generating a new storm every day or two,” said Peter Inness, a meteorologist at the University of Reading in England, as quoted by the Associated Press. “There have been many occasions in the recent past when two or more damaging storms have passed across the U.K. and other parts of Europe in the space of a few days.”
Prior to the storm, British authorities issued “red” weather warnings – indicating a danger to life – in parts of southern England, including London, and Wales.
The storm also disrupted travel across southern England and Wales, as trains, ferries and airplanes could not safely provide service.
“I urge all Londoners to stay at home, do not take risks, and do not travel unless it is absolutely essential, Mayor Sadiq Khan said before the storm.
