Britain on Storm Red Alert: ‘danger to life’ Met Office said as 1 man is killed
- A man was fatally injured by a falling tree in Ireland while out working to clear debris caused by Storm Eunice
- Red warnings are rare but record winds of up to 122 miles per hour shredded buildings and brought public transport to a standstill
An Atlantic storm battered Britain and Ireland on Friday, killing at least one person, as record winds of up to 122 miles per hour knocked out power for tens of thousands of people, forced planes to abort landings, and shredded the roof of London’s O2 arena.
A man was fatally injured by a falling tree in Ireland while out working to clear debris caused by Storm Eunice. He was working with a colleague clearing trees in County Wexford when the incident took place.
More than 250,000 homes were without power and hundreds of flights were canceled as Storm Eunice blew unleashed chaos across London, southeast England and parts of continental Europe.
The storm, which brewed in the central Atlantic and was spun up from the Azores towards Europe by the jet stream, posed a danger to life, Britain’s Meteorological Office said.
The storm hit Western England, making landfall in tourist hotspot Cornwall, where waves lashed the coast, sending plumes of spray over the roofs of cottages.