Storm Darragh travel chaos with trains cancelled & thousands without power
- by Admin
- December 8, 2024
STORM Darragh has sparked travel chaos – with trains cancelled, thousands left without power and roofs blown off by 70mph winds.
Brits have been warned to brace for more strong winds after two people died in Storm Darragh yesterday.
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Northern Ireland was exposed to wind gusts of up to 80mph overnight.
A fresh yellow Met Office wind warning came into force across much of England and Wales at 6am.
More widely there are likely to be gusts of 35-45mph inland, even reaching 70mph around coasts during the morning.
It means that further travel disruption and power cuts are likely until 6pm, the Met Office said.
Drivers across the UK are also still facing a number of blocked roads and closures today.
Gusts up to 50mph are expected in the Channel Islands on Sunday, with BA, Easyjet and Blue Islands all cancelling early flights at Jersey Airport.
It comes after Storm Darragh brought gales of 93mph to some parts of the country yesterday, which also saw 22 people trapped in a North Yorkshire forest overnight.
The group which included a two-year-old-child, were caught out after the Storm brought down trees and power lines, blocking their exit.
By taking refuge in a café within the 8,000 acre Dalby Forest, everyone managed to stay safe.
Millions were warned to stay indoors – with tens of thousands left without power and trains cancelled.
National Rail said disruption was expected through Tottenham Hale until 9am this morning.
Trains to and from London Victoria are also facing “major disruption” due to a signalling fault.
While hundreds of passengers have been spotted crowded around departure boards at Euston station in London.
The M48 at Severn Bridge will be closed in both directions between J1 and J2 until at least midday.
Major Oxford thoroughfare Headington Hill Road is also shut after a falling tree smashed a barrier wall.
Wightlink said the 8am car ferry sailing from Portsmouth and 9am from Fishbourne were cancelled, along with the 7.15am and 8.15am Fastcat services from Portsmouth Harbour and the 7.45am and 8.45am services from Ryde Pier Head.
The Met Office said heavy rain was expected to persist in central and eastern parts of England throughout Sunday, with 20-25mm forecast to fall across much of the country.
As much as 60mm could fall over high ground of the Cheviots, Pennines and North York Moors.
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TRAGIC DEATHS
Two men were killed on Saturday by falling trees hitting their vehicles.
The latest victim was killed when a tree fell and hit his car on Silver Birch Road, Erdington, on Saturday afternoon.
Sergeant Benjamin Parsons said: “Our thoughts are with the man’s family at this time, and his next of kin have been informed.”
The road was closed with drivers urged to avoid the area.
Earlier in the day, a man died after a tree fell onto his van in Lancashire.
The man, in his 40s, was driving his Citroen vehicle on the A59 at Longton, near Preston, at about 9am on Saturday.
He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Detective Sergeant Matt Davidson said: “Very sadly, this incident has resulted in the death of a man.
“Our thoughts are with his loved ones at this time. An investigation is ongoing,.
“I would appeal to anyone who saw what happened or has any dashcam or mobile phone footage to please get in touch.”
The storm brought a huge tree crashing down onto a parked Porsche in Cardiff – writing it off.
It also ripped the roofs off several kiosks on Llandudno pier as well as a restaurant in Cornwall.
In North Staffordshire a box on an electricity pole exploded – sparking a mass power cut.
Imran Younas, 37, crawled out of the BMW rental car he was driving unscathed when it was struck by an uprooted tree in Lode Lane in Solihull, West Midlands on Saturday.
How the ‘luckiest man in Britain’ survived the storm unscathed
By Emily Jane-Heap
A DAD whose car was crushed to a pulp by a fallen tree during Storm Darragh says he feels like “the luckiest man in Britain” after miraculously surviving the ordeal without a scratch.Paramedics arrived on the scene to check him over – but he was allowed to go home after they established he didn’t have a single injury.
He told The Sun: “I suddenly heard this huge impact from the back of the car and the airbags went off.
“The first thing I did was take my seatbelt off, feel for the door handle, and crawl out. It was like something out of a Final Destination movie.
“The car is a total write-off, but there’s not even a scratch on me…I was very shaken up afterwards, but now I feel like the luckiest man in Britain.
“If anyone had been in the back of the car, I don’t think they would’ve made it.”
Construction project manager Imran, who has been working in Saudi Arabia for the last three years, is back in the UK for two weeks visiting his wife and two-year-old daughter.
He was making the 65-mile journey from Gloucester to his house in Birmingham, after dropping his mother-in-law home, when the accident happened.
The dad-of-one joked that he has a newfound appreciation for BMW after making it out of the wreck alive, adding: “German cars do live up to their standards – I have high respect for them now.”
He is now looking forward to returning to the Middle East following the nightmare accident.
He said: “It’s made me want to go back to the desert because there’s no trees there.”
Storm Darragh wreaked havoc across the UK over the weekend after bringing winds of up to 90mph in places.
Two people were killed when their vehicles were struck by falling trees on Saturday.
A man in his 40s died when his Citroen van was struck on the A59 at Longton near Preston, Lancs around 9am, while a second man was killed when a tree fell and hit his car in Erdington, West Midlands in the afternoon.
Almost 145,000 families woke up to no power on Sunday morning after strong winds brought down power lines overnight.
‘RISK TO LIFE’
The Government’s “risk to life” alert came into effect at 1am yesterday.
The alert was sent to people within the area covered by the red warning for wind in parts of Wales and south west England.
Energy Networks Association said 259,000 customers across England, Scotland and Wales were without power as of last night.
It said that 80 per cent of homes affected by the storm have been reconnected.
The Environment Agency had 64 flood warnings in place in England on Sunday morning, meaning flooding is expected.
Natural Resources Wales said 25 flood warnings were active across the country.
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