People watching as waves crashed against the harbour wall at Porthcawl in south Wales yesterday. Photo: Rebecca Naden/ReutersA strong storm battered Britain and the Netherlands yesterday, killing three people, cutting power and forcing hundreds of plane and train cancellations as it moved on across mainland Europe.
Winds of up to 160 kilometres per hour lashed southern England and Wales, disrupting the travel plans of millions of commuters – the worst storm recorded in Britain in a decade.
A 17-year-old girl was killed when a tree fell onto her home while she slept in Kent, while a man in his 50s was killed when a tree crushed his car in Watford, just north of the capital.
Thin volumes on London’s financial markets suggested many traders had been stuck at home.
A crane smashed into the Cabinet Office, a ministry in the heart of London, forcing Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg to cancel a press conference.
Heavy winds also swept across the low-lying Netherlands, uprooting trees and shutting down all train traffic to Amsterdam. They were forecast to peak at more than 130 kph by early afternoon.
A woman was killed and two people were seriously hurt by falling trees in the Dutch capital and a ferry carrying 1,000 people from the English city of Newcastle was unable to dock in the port of IJmuiden and returned to sea, RTL television said.
About 180,000 customers in Britain were left without power
Fifty flights at Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport were cancelled and Rotterdam Port, Europe’s busiest, said incoming and outgoing vessels were delayed.
In southern England, toppled trees damaged properties and flooding made some roads impassable.
About 180,000 customers in Britain were left without power in one of the worst storms to hit England since the 1987 “Great Storm” which killed 18 people and felled around 15 million trees.
A 14-year-old boy was missing after being swept out to sea on Sunday afternoon before the storm hit. Police said rescuers were forced to call off a search for him late on Sunday due to the pounding waves.
London’s Heathrow airport said 130 flights were cancelled, the majority between 0600 and 1100 GMT and told passengers to check with their airlines before travelling.
As the working week began, London’s commuter train service was shut down while several Tube lines, which run both underground and overground, were partially suspended due to obstructed tracks.
The Highways Agency, which operates the road network in England, said high winds had forced the closure of the Dartford Crossing, a major motorway bridge linking London to Essex.
The Severn motorway bridge linking England to South Wales was also shut.