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Storm Eunice, which left a devastating track across Europe and disrupted transportation networks, has left over 200,000 British homes without electricity.
At least four people were killed and considerable disruption was caused by the severe Atlantic storm, which brought record-breaking winds of up to 196 km/h (122 mph) to the United Kingdom. In Ireland, Belgium, and the Netherlands, at least six more deaths have been reported.
Electricity had been restored to 1.2 million households, but 190,000 customers remained without power, according to UK Business and Energy Minister Kwasi Kwarteng.
The UK’s Energy Networks Association stated earlier that some 226,000 customers were without power at 7:30 GMT, largely in southern England but also in the east and southern Wales.
“Strong winds are hampering restoration work across southern England,” Kwarteng warned. He went on to say, “We expect most consumers to have supplies restored quickly.”
When a storm slammed northeast England and eastern Scotland in November, about one million homes lost electricity.
While the vast majority of homes were restored to power within 48 hours, more than 3,000 households were without electricity for a week or longer, forcing the government to urge a review of utility companies’ preparations.
Trees were still blocking numerous lines after the majority of the network was shut down, prompting train companies in the UK to advise people not to go.
A 400-year-old tree collapsed into a house and bedroom where 23-year-old Sven Good was working from home in Brentwood, east of London, while millions of other Britons followed government advice to stay indoors.
“There was a creak and then a big blast, and the whole house just shuddered,” Good recalled.
“I could feel the entire roof collapsing around me.” “It was terrible,” he told Sky News, adding that none of the passengers were hurt.
On Friday, Eunice triggered London’s first-ever “red” weather alert. It was one of Europe’s most violent storms since the 1987 “Great Storm” battered the UK and northern France.