At least 9 die, roof ripped off London O2 Arena as northern Europe battered by second major storm in days
- British authorities were forced to take the unusual step of issuing “red’’ weather warnings – indicating a danger to life – for parts of southern England
- Weather system is now pushing into the European mainland, prompting high wind warnings in Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark and Germany
The second major storm in three days smashed through northern Europe on Friday, killing at least nine people as high winds felled trees, cancelled train services and ripped sections off the roof of London’s O2 Arena.
The storm caused mayhem with travel in Britain, shutting the English Channel port of Dover, closing bridges linking England and Wales and halting most trains in and out of London.
At least three people died in Britain, including a man in southern England killed when a car hit a tree, another man whose windscreen was struck by debris in northwest England and a woman in her 30s who died in London when a tree fell on a car, police said.
In the Netherlands, firefighters said three people were killed by falling trees in and around Amsterdam, and a fourth died in the northern province of Groningen after driving his car into a fallen tree.