Storm Ciara lashes Europe, disrupts travel
Hundreds of flights and train services were cancelled across northwest Europe as Storm Ciara swept in packing powerful winds after lashing Britain and Ireland, where tens of thousands of homes were left without power.
Swathes of northern France were put on orange alert and 130,000 homes had electricity cut off amid fears of coastal storm surges.
Ciara was heading south through France yesterday with the electricity network company Enedis reporting outages from Brittany in the west to the centre and east.
Meteo-France noted wind speeds of 130kph along the coast and predicted highs of 200kph.
Trees and electricity poles were blown over and roofs ripped off homes across 31 departments, fire and rescue services said.
Britain, which bore the brunt of the storm on Sunday with widespread flooding across the north, remained on alert with the Meteorological Office warning of strong winds, heavy rain and snow.
“While Storm Ciara is clearing away, that doesn’t mean we’re entering a quieter period of weather,” Met Office meteorologist Alex Burkill said.
“It’s going to stay very unsettled,” he said, warning “blizzards aren’t out of the question”.
Transport was disrupted across the country with planes, trains and ferries cancelled or delayed after Ciara brought torrential rains and hurricane-force winds.
The highest wind speed recorded was 150kph in the northwest Welsh village of Aberdaron.
At Wet Sleddale Reservoir in northwest England’s Lake District national park, more than 15cm of rain fell in a 24-hour period.
More than 170 flood warnings remained in place early yesterday, mostly across northern England and along the southern coast.
The West Yorkshire towns of Hebden Bridge and neighbouring Mytholmroyd were among the worst hit by the storm, with streets inundated and cars submerged in the floodwaters.
As of Sunday evening, 62,000 homes across Britain were still without electricity, the Energy Networks Association said.
Dozens of flights have been cancelled or delayed and rail companies have urged passengers not to travel and operated reduced timetables and speed restrictions.
Channel ferry services between Dover and the French port of Calais resumed yesterday morning after being halted on Sunday.
In Ireland, which was on orange alert for the risk of flooding in coastal regions, 10,000 homes, farms and businesses were left without power.
Belgium was also on orange alert and around 60 flights to and from Brussels had been cancelled.