Boelo and Austen batter UK, France, Germany, leaving 150,000 homes without power
A 60-year-old man died in Scotland after a falling tree struck him during the twin storms that swept across the region.
By Michael Lombardi ·
One man died and more than 150,000 households lost electricity across the United Kingdom, France, and Germany after storms Boelo and Austen crossed northern Europe. The two weather systems passed through the region in under 24 hours, causing widespread disruption to travel and communications on Sunday.
In the United Kingdom, over 82,000 homes were without power. A 60-year-old man was killed by a falling tree in southwestern Scotland. Two women were injured by another tree in central Scotland, according to the Press Association. Winds reached 135 km/h in Argyll and Bute. Debris blocked roads and rail lines in Scotland and northern England. An unused pier in Brighton was blown away by Austen on Friday.
In France, the energy company Enedis reported that 288,000 homes lost electricity at the peak of the storm on Saturday. By midday Sunday, 59,000 homes remained without power, primarily in Normandy and Brittany. A marathon runner in northern France sustained minor injuries after being hit by a tree. German authorities reported that 10,000 homes in and around Freiburg-Breisgau lost power on Sunday. The town's main hospital limited care to emergency cases due to the outage, which also interrupted mobile phone service.
In Germany, two people were seriously injured on Saturday when scaffolding fell at a market in Nastatten. In the Netherlands, three crew members on a freight ship were injured north of Schiermonnikoog. Two were airlifted to a hospital on the mainland. Four people were injured by falling trees in Brussels, Belgium.
The Met Office warned that Boelo posed a danger to life from flying debris and crashing waves. Advisers told the public to stay indoors as much as possible. Authorities in Scotland and England issued flood risk warnings for specific regions. Hundreds of flights were cancelled or diverted across northern Europe, including at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport.
Experts have noted that climate change is contributing to more extreme weather events. The storms marked the first major autumn weather system for many parts of Europe.
Source: Al Jazeera
