Status: 02/18/2022 8:35 p.m
The storm “Eunice” has caused great damage in Europe. People died in several countries. Rail traffic was disrupted in many places and flights were cancelled. Tens of thousands of homes were without power.
One day after a storm that killed three people in Germany and Poland, Europe was hit again by a hurricane. The storm called “Eunice” internationally and “Zeynep” in Germany killed at least three people in the Netherlands. In Amsterdam, two people were killed by falling trees, the fire department said. In Diemen in the east of the capital, a person died after a tree fell on his car. In the south of the country, a woman was taken to hospital with serious injuries.
Citizens were called on their mobile phones not to go out on the streets. The storm with hurricane-force gusts paralyzed public life in large parts of the country. Trees were uprooted, roofs torn off and trucks overturned. In The Hague, the wind blew off the roof of a football stadium. Train and public transport have been discontinued. Schools and test and vaccination centers closed.
The extreme weather conditions also caused cancellations and delays at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. Because of the low storm, the Netherlands had issued the highest storm warning “red”. Wind speeds of up to 141 kilometers per hour were measured on the Dutch coast.
Also dead in Belgium, England and Ireland
A 79-year-old man from Canada died in Belgium, the police said. A man was killed by a falling tree in south-east Ireland, police said. The Irish Meteorological Agency also issued a storm warning. All schools in the EU country remained closed. The power went out in more than 80,000 households and shops.
In England, according to police, a young woman died in a car after a tree fell on the vehicle. A man died in north-west England after debris fell on the windscreen of his vehicle.
First red alert in London
In London, the highest red warning level was declared, for the first time since this categorization was introduced in 2011. It also applies to parts of South West and South East England and Wales. Heavy snowfall has been forecast for Scotland and Northern England. On the Isle of Wight off England’s south coast, “Eunice” hit land with record wind speeds of 196 kilometers per hour. According to a preliminary assessment, this is “the strongest gust ever measured in England,” said the British weather agency Met Office.
The weather service warned that life was in danger because of flying debris. Videos circulating on the internet showed how the covering of the Millennium Dome in the London Borough of Greenwich was partially torn away. Dozens of flights have been canceled at Heathrow and London City Airport, and ferry services across the English Channel have been suspended. The Port of Dover has been closed following a string of ferry services.
British Army on standby
Several national rail operators also advised against travel. In Wales, rail services have been completely suspended. The power went out in more than 140,000 households in England, as the network operator announced. Hundreds of flights have been canceled at London airports and ferry services across the English Channel have been suspended. In Wales, all trains and buses have stopped running.
The British Army was put on standby because of the storm. A representative of the British Environment Agency warned against going to the coasts in the hunt for dramatic shots. This would be “probably the stupidest thing you can do,” he said.
France restricts traffic
The storm also caused traffic delays in Germany, Denmark and France. In Brittany in northern France, “Eunice” caused waves up to four meters high and affected regional rail traffic.
The French railways stopped regional traffic in the north and in Normandy with a few exceptions. Disabilities were also expected in eastern France. The TGV trains should run as planned, but the high-speed Thalys not to the Netherlands. Rail traffic was also affected in Belgium and the authorities called on citizens to only leave their homes in urgent cases.