Torrential rain and gale-force winds lashed southern Britain in the worst storm for more than a decade yesterday, causing travel chaos and serious flooding to many regions.
Parts of northern France and Belgium also suffered under the severe weather conditions, and rail, ferry and air services were badly disrupted.
Britain was the worst hit, with up to five people reported killed, much of the nation's rail network brought to a standstill, many roads closed and parts of the south under water.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Another person died and three were injured in France, police said.
In Britain, rail passengers already facing severe delays due to maintenance work at the weekend were stranded as operators suspended services.
By mid-morning only a trickle of trains was reaching London's main stations and hardly any were getting out.
"Nobody should venture out unless it is absolutely essential," Ray Kemp of the government's Environment Agency said.
"It's one of the severest storms, if not the severest storm, since 1987. It is very much a threat to life and limb," he told BBC radio.
Four people died as a direct or indirect result of the conditions.
In Taunton, southwest England, a motorcyclist was killed when he hit a tree on the road early yesterday, and another man died when his car skidded on surface water in South London and crashed.
On Sunday, one person was killed and two seriously hurt in Surrey, south of London, when a tree hit two vehicles. A man of 35 fell overboard in gale force winds on Sunday from a ferry between Rosslare in the Irish Republic and Fishguard in Wales.
A newspaper also reported the death on Sunday of a woman who slipped in heavy rain at a waterfall in Wales.
Several other people were hurt, some seriously, in storm-related incidents across the country.
In London, many underground and overland suburban railway lines were closed after 145kph winds whipped a mass of debris on to the tracks.
Eurostar high-speed train services linking London, Paris and Brussels were suspended, officials said.
"Nothing is running because we haven't got the routes, lines are blocked in various places and we are advising people to make alternative arrangements," a spokesman said.
The high-speed express between London and the country's main international airport, Heathrow, also ground to a standstill, as did the underground service there.
By mid-morning British Airways had cancelled 66 flights from Heathrow and a further 22 from Gatwick, with more due to be scrapped later and many switched to other airports around the country.
There was chaos on the roads too, with long sections of freeway closed and hundreds of kilometers of diversions in operation.
Large parts of the M25 ring-road running round the capital were closed as drainage channels failed to cope with the sheer volume of rain.
Scores of court cases in London were either being delayed or put off until today as judges, lawyers, witnesses, defendants and staff failed to get in.
WAITING GAME: The US has so far only offered a ‘best rate tariff,’ which officials assume is about 15 percent, the same as Japan, a person familiar with the matter said Taiwan and the US have completed “technical consultations” regarding tariffs and a finalized rate is expected to be released soon, Executive Yuan spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) told a news conference yesterday, as a 90-day pause on US President Donald Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs is set to expire today. The two countries have reached a “certain degree of consensus” on issues such as tariffs, nontariff trade barriers, trade facilitation, supply chain resilience and economic security, Lee said. They also discussed opportunities for cooperation, investment and procurement, she said. A joint statement is still being negotiated and would be released once the US government has made
NEW GEAR: On top of the new Tien Kung IV air defense missiles, the military is expected to place orders for a new combat vehicle next year for delivery in 2028 Mass production of Tien Kung IV (Sky Bow IV) missiles is expected to start next year, with plans to order 122 pods, the Ministry of National Defense’s (MND) latest list of regulated military material showed. The document said that the armed forces would obtain 46 pods of the air defense missiles next year and 76 pods the year after that. The Tien Kung IV is designed to intercept cruise missiles and ballistic missiles to an altitude of 70km, compared with the 60km maximum altitude achieved by the Missile Segment Enhancement variant of PAC-3 systems. A defense source said yesterday that the number of
Taiwanese exports to the US are to be subject to a 20 percent tariff starting on Thursday next week, according to an executive order signed by US President Donald Trump yesterday. The 20 percent levy was the same as the tariffs imposed on Vietnam, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh by Trump. It was higher than the tariffs imposed on Japan, South Korea and the EU (15 percent), as well as those on the Philippines (19 percent). A Taiwan official with knowledge of the matter said it is a "phased" tariff rate, and negotiations would continue. "Once negotiations conclude, Taiwan will obtain a better
FLOOD RECOVERY: “Post-Typhoon Danas reconstruction special act” is expected to be approved on Thursday, the premier said, adding the flood control in affected areas would be prioritized About 200cm of rainfall fell in parts of southern Taiwan from Monday last week to 9am yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Kaohsiung’s Taoyuan District (桃源) saw total rainfall of 2,205mm, while Pingtung County’s Sandimen Township (三地門) had 2,060.5mm and Tainan’s Nanhua District (南化) 1,833mm, according to CWA data. Meanwhile, Alishan (阿里山) in Chiayi County saw 1,688mm of accumulated rain and Yunlin County’s Caoling (草嶺) had 1,025mm. The Pingtung County Government said that 831 local residents have been pre-emptively evacuated from mountainous areas. A total of 576 are staying with relatives in low-lying areas, while the other 255 are in shelters. CWA forecaster
RSS