Man dies as storms lash UK

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/jan/15/gales-heavy-rain-floods-travel-chaos-weather-uk

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One man has died in storms sweeping across the UK that have brought 100-mile-an-hour winds and led to more than 50 flood warnings being issued with widespread disruption on the road and rail networks in much of southern England and Scotland.

The man who died was killed when a tree fell on his van on the Hillsborough Road near Lisburn in Co Antrim around 11am on Thursday, the Police Service of Northern Ireland said.

The Environment Agency issued 32 flood warnings in England and Wales, and 149 flood alerts, while a further 21 flood warnings were issued in Scotland. The worst hit areas were south-east England, where 13 warnings were in force, and the south-west with seven warnings. The river Tone in Somerset burst its banks outside Taunton blocking dozens of lanes.

First Great Western rail services to Devon and Cornwall were suspended after a train struck a fallen tree between Newton Abbot and Paignton in Devon. Western Power said that more than 400 homes in Cornwall faced power cuts after high winds bought down lines.

Further east along the coast the main problem was heavy rain, which caused flooding at Hinton Admiral, in Dorset, blocking the rail line towards London. South West Trains said there were delays of up to half an hour between Bournemouth and Southampton due to flooding near Brockenhurst. In Hampshire the A31 was heavily flooded between Farnham and Bentley.

Overnight on Wednesday the Meteo weather group recorded wind gusts of 101mph on higher ground, and the forecast for more windy conditions forced Kent police to implement an emergency measure to back up freight traffic along the M20 near Dover.

Non-freight traffic was being diverted on to the A20 between junctions eight and nine. A police spokesman said: “This is in response to a severe weather warning for wind and rain.”

A Met Office “be aware” weather warning is in place for rain and high winds, with gusts of up to 80mph possible in coastal areas. The highest wind speed recorded by the Met Office was 96mph in Capel Curig, in Gwynedd, north Wales.

At the Port of Dover, officials said cross-Channel sailings were subject to delays because of the weather conditions. P&O Ferries, DFDS Seaways and MyFerryLink all reported problems with their services, with some telling passengers to expect a “bumpy crossing”.and some passengers were warned to expect a “bumpy crossing”. People were urged to allow plenty of time for their journey to the port, and drivers heading there were told to consider using alternative routes.

In Scotland, severe weather, including heavy rain and snow, caused dozens of train services north of Glasgow to be cancelled until at least 6pm. Snowploughs and chainsaw gangs were deployed to try to clear the network of snow and fallen trees, Network Rail Scotland tweeted. Up to six inches of snow fell between Perth and Inverness, it said, settling faster than snow ploughs could clear the tracks.

Video footage showed waves lashing the line at Saltcoats, south-west of Glasgow, forcing the suspension of services.

In Glasgow part of Bath Street in the city centre was closed after metal sheeting fell from the roof of Marks Hotel. The road has been shut between Hope Street and Wellington Street and diversions are in place.

Hairdresser Taylor Ferguson, whose salon is on Bath Street, tweeted: “Full-on #stormyweather, drama on Bath Street after big chunks of roof from Marks Hotel - next door to salon - blew off onto street.

“I was just out on street 5 minutes earlier. Fortunately no-one hit. Police cordoned off part of the street for safety.”

Some ferry services were suspended and more than 100 schools were shut in the Highlands and Islands, Perthshire and Northern Ireland due to the weather.

In Ireland the west coast continued to be battered by the remains of storm Rachel with winds of more than 90mph. More than 17,000 homes in the Irish Republic were without power, with torrential rain also in western coastal areas.

The worst affected counties were Donegal, Cork, Killarney, Galway, Athlone, Tullow, and Wexford on the eastern seaboard. Donegal bore the brunt of the power outages, with 10,000 homes in the county left without electricity.

Northern Ireland Electricity said 5,000 homes had been left without power in the province.

Ireland’s weather service, Met Eireann, has warned that the storm will get worse into Friday morning, bringing further heavy showers and violent winds.

Although power has been returned to many homes in Northern Ireland after thousands of outages over the past 24 hours there were still 4,500 homes without power in Armagh, Down and Antrim.

In Belfast three people were taken to hospital after a pallet was blown off a lorry in the Connswater area of the city, and earlier on Thursday morning two girls sustained minor injuries after high winds lifted them off their feet and blew them into the path of a bus.

Winds of up to 80 miles an hour are still battering parts of Northern Ireland this evening.

Ferries between the region and Scotland have been suspended. The Stena Line ferry between Belfast and Liverpool has also been cancelled while the Foyle bridge linking the two sides of Derry city was closed due to high winds.

The latest weather blast follows fierce storms that left 120,000 properties without power in Scotland last week.

The Met Office said: “The winds will ease by midnight but then after something of a lull, a further spell of very strong winds, this time from the west, is expected from late Thursday morning onwards into the evening, again with gusts of 70mph or more in places. The public should be aware of the risk of disruption to transport and possibly to power supplies.”

The AA said it had rescued 57 vehicles and attended 8,200 breakdowns by mid-afternoon, and reported poor conditions in Scotland’s central belt and north-west England.

Darron Burness, from the AA’s severe weather team, said: “Flooding could be an issue as the snow gives way to rain. If in any doubt, don’t risk crossing a flooded road or ford – just turn round and find an alternative route.”

Several routes in the north of Scotland were closed due to drifting snow and fallen trees, and Cumbria police warned of icy conditions after receiving up to 40 reports of road collisions across the county.

The British Red Cross urged people to prepare for adverse weather in the coming days. Simon Lewis, head of emergency planning, said: “Putting together an emergency kit to take with you on the move or keep at home is a great way to start – being sure to include items such as a torch, spare batteries, emergency contact details, bottled water and, if travelling by car, consider taking a shovel.”