Storms Austen and Boelo cut power to more than 150,000 homes in northern Europe
Two storms in two days brought down power lines across northern Europe, hitting Britain, France and Germany hardest. Flights, trains and phone networks were also disrupted.
Symbolic image · Photo: Basile Morin / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped and resized)
Two storms in two days temporarily cut electricity to more than 150,000 homes in northern Europe. According to Euronews, citing AFP, about 82,000 households were affected in Britain, nearly 60,000 in France and at least 10,000 in Germany. Storm Austen first hit southern England on Friday before sweeping across northern continental Europe, while Boelo reached Britain on Sunday.
Gusts of 135 kilometres per hour were recorded in Argyll and Bute in western Scotland. Fallen trees and downed power lines blocked roads and rail lines across Scotland, and phone networks were disrupted. The UK Met Office warned that Boelo posed a danger to life from flying debris and crashing waves. Al Jazeera also reported power cuts affecting 150,000 homes.
Hundreds of flights were cancelled, and Amsterdam's Schiphol airport warned of cancellations and delays. In Germany, police said two people were seriously injured on Saturday in Nastätten near Frankfurt when Austen blew over scaffolding at an autumn market; in Brussels, falling trees injured four people. High winds and rain were expected in Denmark, Norway and parts of Sweden; some ferries were cancelled and train services on some Swedish lines were suspended as a precaution.