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Saturday, December 7, 2024

Storm Bert in the UK and Ireland. Roads closed, trains not running [Aktualizacja]

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At least one person has died as a result of the severe weather that Storm Bert brought to the British Isles. There are a hundred flood alerts in Great Britain, and tens of thousands of homes have no access to electricity. Local services inform about difficulties in rail and bus traffic.

It's raging over the British Isles storm Bert. It brought heavy snowfall to Scotland and northern England, while residents of Wales, southern England and Ireland faced heavy rain and flooding.

According to the British meteorological agency Met Office, strong winds are also a danger. The strongest gusts were recorded in Capel Curig, Wales, where winds reached speeds of over 130 kilometers per hour.

Fatalities, power outages, paralysis on the roads

Intense rainfall and strong wind gusts caused many dangerous accidents on the Islands. In Hampshire, southern England, a tree fell on a car. The man driving it died from his injuries, the BBC reported. On the Isle of Man, firefighters rescued three people trapped in a flooded car, while in Wales, ten people had to be evacuated from a property affected by a landslide.

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Tens of thousands of households were left without electricity, including 4,000 homes in central England, southwest England and south Wales, and 27,000 customers in the northeast, Yorkshire and northern Lincolnshire, The Guardian reported.

As a result of heavy snowfall and rain, traffic paralysis occurred. In Newcastle, northeast England, the runways were covered with a thick layer of snow. Most flights were canceled and passengers were stranded at the airport. In northern England, the rail operator Northern Rail has decided to cancel 339 services.

A snowstorm paralyzed traffic at Newcastle AirportReuters/Tim Harding/Chona Harding

On Saturday morning, Scottish rail operator ScotRail reported on its X platform that some train services such as the Inverness-Elgin and Aberdeen-Inverurie routes – both popular with tourists visiting Scotland – had been suspended due to the weather. Snow also prevented city buses from running in Edinburgh. Traffic was restored in the afternoon.

Flood warnings

The lowest level warnings for gusty winds and rain were in place across the UK in the afternoon. They covered Wales, most of Scotland and areas along the west and south coast of England. One hundred local flood alerts have also been introduced in the country, mainly in England and Wales.

“Storm Bert is a multi-hazard event that will bring snow, rain and wind to the UK for much of the weekend,” said Jason Kelly, chief meteorologist at the UK Met Office.

He said there was a possibility of “heavy snowfall, particularly in higher areas across Scotland, north Wales and northern England.”

Dangerous in Ireland

The Irish Meteorological Service issued a red alert overnight as rain hit counties Cork and Galway the hardest. Heavy rain caused flooding in parts of Ireland's west coast, leaving some roads impassable.

ESB Networks reported that strong winds led to power outages overnight that affected 60,000 homes, farms and businesses in Ireland, mainly in the west and north-west of the country. “ESB Networks crews are working to restore power to affected areas,” the company said, warning of further power outages over the weekend.

Reuters, PAP, Met Office, BBC, The Guardian

Main photo source: Reuters/Tim Harding/Chona Harding



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