Almost exactly one year after Superstorm Sandy crushed the eastern seaboard of the USA, and 26 years after the last devastating storm to hit the south of England, the so-called St.Jude's Day storm - among the worst in recent memory - is battering the UK (and some of Europe) with winds up to 99 mph. So far there are 2 reported deaths, 220,000 homes without power, all SouthWest trains halted, and over 130 flights cancelled at Heathrow airport. Two nuclear plants have been shutdown and hundreds of trees have fallen blocking roads and rail links across as the storm begins to shift into mainland Europe...
Satellite image of the storm...
Via Reuters,
A teenage girl was killed when a tree fell onto her home while she slept during a fierce storm that battered southern Britain, police said on Monday.Police said they were called to the scene at 0718 GMT in Hever in Kent following a report the 17-year old was severely injured."Sadly the 17-year old died," police said in a statement. "The incident is not being treated as suspicious."Britain's strongest storm in a decade battered southern regions on Monday, forcing hundreds of flight cancellations, cutting power lines and disrupting the travel plans of millions of commuters.
Via ANP,
Amsterdam Fire Brigade Says Stay Inside as Storm Kills 2
BBC News reports a double-decker bus blown over...
Hundreds of trees have fallen...
A large crane fell on the UK's Cabinet office.
Power firm EDF say that have partially shut down two nuclear reactors in Kent due to the storm. We are trying to get more information on this.
"The shutdown was weather-related. The plant reacted as it should and shut down safely," an EDF Energy spokeswoman said.
and destruction is rife...
But there remains hope for recovery...
