One dead, thousands without power as Storm Darragh batters UK
- 07 Dec 2024
A man died and hundreds of thousands of people in Britain and Ireland were left without power on Saturday as high winds and heavy rain battered the region.
Major highways and bridges across the country were closed because of strong winds, and multiple train services were suspended. In Ireland, almost 400,000 homes, farms or businesses were without power as a result of the storm. Some flights at Dublin Airport were cancelled.
Gusts of up to 93 miles per hour were recorded as officials sent a rare emergency alert by phone to about 3 million households in Wales and southwest England early Saturday.
The official alert, which came with a loud siren-like sound, warned people to stay indoors and was sent to every compatible mobile phone in the areas impacted by Storm Darragh.
Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said the storm posed a "challenging situation." "About three million homes will have had the emergency alert system to their mobile phone. I would just encourage anyone who has had that to follow the advice," Reynolds told Sky News on Saturday.
Darragh, the fourth named storm of the season, is also expected to bring heavy rain through the weekend, with more than 100 flood warnings and alerts in place across the UK.
In Wales, the Met Office estimated gusts of up to 150 kmph (93 mph), which knocked out power for over 50,000 people, according to the PA news agency.
Power cuts affected 86,000 homes in England, Scotland and Wales, according to the Energy Networks Association.
Trains were disrupted or suspended on several routes including from Glasgow to Edinburgh in Scotland, and between Cambridge and Stansted Airport in eastern England.
Rail operator CrossCountry put a "do not travel" notice in place for Saturday due to cancellations and severe delays. Network Rail Wales suspended trains on the Welsh northern coast due to a "fallen tree blocking the line", and several bridges in southern England and Wales were closed for safety reasons.
In northwest England, a man in his 40s died when a tree fell onto his van while he was driving on a highway near Preston, about 36 miles (58 kilometers) north of Manchester.
On Friday the UK's weather forecasters, the Met Office, issued a red weather warning - the most serious type. Thousands of homes, many in Northern Ireland, Wales and western England, were left without power overnight.
Agencies