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January 4, 2018

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Deadly storm sweeps Europe, injuring dozens

Source: AFP | 00:01 UTC+8 January 4, 2018 | Print Edition

WINTER storm Eleanor swept into France, Belgium and the Netherlands yesterday after tearing through England and Northern Ireland, cutting power to tens of thousands of people and forcing airports and train services to halt operations.

A skiier was killed by a falling tree at Morillon in the French Alps while 15 others have been injured by the storm across the country, four of them seriously.

Some 252 of about 1,200 flights were cancelled at Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport, a key European hub, as weather alerts were issued for several regions. Flights were also disrupted at Frankfurt’s airport in Germany,

At Paris’s Charles de Gaulle airport, 60 percent of departures were delayed yesterday morning, as were a third of arrivals, while a handful of flights had to be rerouted before the winds eased back. The winds were also wreaking havoc with train services in several French regions.

About 200,000 homes across northern France were without electricity, while “particularly intense” flooding was expected on the Atlantic coasts.About 14,000 homes were also without power in several Swiss cantons.

The Eiffel Tower, which attracts 6 million visitors a year, was closed until yesterday afternoon, while worries about falling tree branches prompted Paris officials to close all city parks for the day.

Eleanor barrelled into continental Europe after whipping across England, Northern Ireland and Ireland, with the Thames Barrier, one of the largest movable flood barriers in the world, closed as a precautionary measure to protect London from swelling tides.

“We have seen some heavy showers push through across the south of the UK along with hail, loud thunder and lightning, which has woken people up,” said meteorologist Becky Mitchell.

Gusts of 160 kilometres per hour were recorded at Great Dun Fell in Westmorland, northwest England, while overturned vehicles and trees caused closures of major motorways.

In Ireland, power supply company ESB said electricity had been restored to 123,000 customers, while 27,000 remained without power.

Streets around the docks in Galway on the west coast were flooded after high tides breached the sea defences, prompting the deployment of about two dozen troops to support flood defence efforts.

Belgium and parts of Spain were also put on “orange” alert, the third warning level, with officials urging people to exercise caution when venturing out.

Eleanour is the fourth major storm to hit Europe since December.

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