Northern Europe battered by gale-force winds, floods
COPENHAGEN, Denmark — Gale-force winds and floods struck several countries in Northern Europe as the region endured more heavy rain on Friday that forecasters say will continue into the weekend. Three deaths in the U.K. were blamed on the bad weather.
The winds are expected to hit hardest in the eastern part of Denmark’s Jutland peninsula and the Danish islands in the Baltic Sea. But the northern part of the British Isles, southern Sweden and Norway, and northern Germany are also in the path of the storm, named Babet by U.K.’s weather forecaster, the Met Office.
Eastern Scotland continued to bear the brunt of the stormy weather. On Friday, the Met Office issued a new “red” warning, its highest, for parts of the region through today.
“This is not usual autumn weather,” said Andy Page, the Met’s chief meteorologist. “This is an exceptional event, and we are likely to continue to see significant impacts with the potential for further flooding and damage to properties.”
On Friday, police reported that a man in his 60s died after getting caught in fast-flowing flood water in the central England county of Shropshire.
In Scotland, a 57-year-old woman died Thursday after being swept into a river in the region of Angus, where hundreds of homes were evacuated. Also on Thursday, a 56-year-old man died after his van hit a falling tree in the same area.
Though forecasters said the worst of the heavy rain in Scotland had passed, they warned that conditions will remain difficult, with river levels still on the rise and flood defenses breached. Some parts of the town of Brechin are only accessible by boat after its flood defenses were overwhelmed by the heavy rainfall, raising concerns about further loss of life.
Wind gusts in excess of 60 mph were likely on Friday. Several major road sections and rail routes were closed in Scotland, while air passengers were facing flight cancellations.
The storm has already brought more than a month’s worth of rain in the worst-affected regions in Scotland and was pummeling many parts of England on Friday.
In northeastern England, a lighthouse at the mouth of the River Tyne lost its distinctive red and white dome. Port of Tyne officials said it was not yet safe to assess the damage to the South Shields lighthouse.
The swirling weather system was also hitting other parts of Northern Europe, particularly Denmark. The Danish Meteorological Institute wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that it expects water levels “to exceed the 100-year event in several places.”
Police in southern Denmark — the Danish region expected to be the worst hit — said a number of sections of road in low-lying areas were flooded and some trees had fallen. Police said a dike was breached and urged people to immediately leave Sandersvig Strand on the Jutland peninsula.
Danish meteorologists issued their highest warning for “very dangerous weather” and said levels of some inland waters were expected to rise up to nearly 8 feet above normal.
In neighboring Sweden, meteorologists warned of the risk of extensive flooding which may cause limited access on roads and railways along the southern coasts of the Scandinavian country. Water levels were expected to begin dropping again this morning, Swedish meteorologists said.
A bridge near Norway’s second-largest city was protectively closed, the Bergens Tidende newspaper said. Ferries across the region were canceled and air traffic was hampered, with delays and a few cancellations.
The Swedish Transportation Authority suspended service of several train and bus lines in southern Sweden, because of the weather, prompting Skanetrafiken, the operator of the local transit system, to recommend “avoiding travel on public transport.”