Storm Eunice takes the lives of four in England, Ireland
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On its first day, the storm already caused multiple deaths and injuries, structural damage, transport disruption, and nationwide power outages.
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Waves crash against the sea wall and the Porthcawl Lighthouse in Wales, Britain, as Storm Eunice makes landfall (AP)
The worst storm in Europe in 3 decades is having a cataclysmic impact, having already caused multiple deaths and injuries, structural damage, transport disruption, and nationwide power outages.
By Friday evening, four people have been confirmed dead in both the United Kingdom and Ireland after the two countries sounded warnings and red-alert, ordering civilians to stay at home.
As a tree fell on her car, a north London woman in her 30s did not make it alive afterward. Another man, in his 60s, was also killed when a tree fell on him in Ireland. Another man in his 50s, in Netherton, England, died when debris struck the windscreen of the vehicle he was driving. A fourth victim is a man in his 20s whose car hit a tree while he was driving.
Though expectations of the speed of wind hovered around 80 to 100 mph, the Met police measured the wind speed on Friday, with a speed of 122 mph recorded at the Needles on the Isle of Wight. This speed is the highest in England since the Burn's Day storm 32 years ago, due to which 47 people passed away.
On Friday evening, 435,000 homes lost electricity, whereas hundreds of trains and flights were postponed.
#StormEunice is expected to hit parts of the #UK on Friday, potentially causing a "sting jet" that might bring about havoc on the streets, according to meteorologists in the UK. pic.twitter.com/e7u0AcFlvj
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) February 18, 2022
Storm Eunice puts the UK and Ireland on red-alert
Eunice, a life-threatening event that is deemed the worst storm to hit populations in three decades, was closing in on Northwestern Europe while the region was still recovering from other storms which engulfed it earlier this week.
When it came to the threat level, the British Army was asked to be on standby, according to the BBC. The Met Office chief meteorologist, Frank Saunders, said in a statement that the storm will bring "damaging gusts" to the southern and central parts of the country.
Millions were asked to stay home while hundreds of schools closed down on Friday.
"The red warning area indicates a significant danger to life as extremely strong winds provide the potential for damage to structures and flying debris," Saunders said.
South West England and South Wales are most at risk from the storm. On Wednesday, the two regions recorded winds exceeding 80 mph from Storm Dudley that thrashed Northern England, southern Scotland and Northern Ireland.
