London, Feb 19 : Seen as one of the worst storms in three decades, Eunice has brought record high wind to the UK, killing three people while causing massive power cuts, flight cancellations and school closures across the country.
A woman in her 30s in north London was killed when a tree fell onto her car, a man in his 20s died when his truck collided with a fallen tree in southern England, and a man in his 50s in northwestern England died due to flying debris, Xinhua news agency reported.
The three deaths occurred on Friday.
Some 200,000 homes have been left without power in Britain as wind speed reached nearly 200 km per hour on the Isle of Wight, provisionally the highest one-off wind gust recorded in England, according to the Met Office.
The Met Office had earlier issued a rare red weather warning for Eunice.
An amber warning, meaning there is a potential danger to life, remains in place in parts of England and Wales after the top level warning was lifted.
The British police and London Ambulance Service confirmed that several others had been taken to hospital after being hit by debris in separate incidents.
London’s O2 Arena, which hosts concerts and sporting events, was closed on Friday after the storm ripped off sections of fabric from its roof.
Around 1,000 people were evacuated and a concert scheduled Friday night has been cancelled.
Hundreds of schools were closed in much of Wales and storm-affected areas of England, including in Cornwall, Devon, Somerset, Wiltshire, Hampshire, Dorset and Bristol.
The storm has also brought widespread travel disruption.All train services in Wales have been suspended on Friday and more than 400 flights from or within Britain have been cancelled.
The Met Office said significant impacts from Storm Eunice would still be felt for the weekend across southern and central areas of Britain as the low-pressure system moved eastwards.The British government held an emergency meeting on Thursday to discuss the response to the storm.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the army was “on standby” to support those affected.Eunice is the second storm in a week to hit the UK after storm Dudley battered parts of Scotland, England and Northern Ireland, leaving thousands of homes without power.ksk/
The number of schools closed has increased to hundreds.of schools were shut in large parts of Wales and the affected areas of England which includes in Cornwall, Devon, Somerset, Wiltshire, Hampshire, Dorset and Bristol.
The storm has also caused numerous disruptions to travel.Train services in Wales were suspended on Friday , and over 400 flights departing from or within Britain were cancelled.
The Met Office said significant effects from storm Eunice will be felt across central and southern regions of Britain due to the low pressure system that moves eastwards.The British government held an emergency meeting on Thursday to discuss the best way to respond to the storm.
The Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the army was “on standby” to help all those affected.Eunice is the second hurricane in just a week to strike the UK following the storm Dudley struck areas of Scotland, England and Northern Ireland, leaving thousands of homes without electricity.
