Hundreds of thousands without power, floods, flight cancellations: Storm “Darragh” is sweeping across Great Britain and Ireland with wind speeds of up to 150 kilometers per hour. In Wales, millions of people had to seek shelter in their homes.
The British Meteorological Office has issued a rare red weather warning due to Storm Darragh. The Met Office said there was a danger to life in parts of Wales and called on around three million people not to leave their homes. The wind there reached speeds of up to 150 kilometers per hour. There were flood warnings.
The British government had previously called on people to prepare for the effects of Storm Darragh. They should receive a siren-like notification on their cell phones to warn them of the strong winds.
No reports of casualties
Storm Darragh paralyzed large parts of the British Isles. In Ireland, around 400,000 households temporarily lost power, as broadcaster RTÉ reported. Tens of thousands were also affected in the United Kingdom. Roads were blocked due to fallen trees, and two motorway bridges between England and Wales were temporarily closed. Initially there were no reports of casualties.
Public transport was partially at a standstill. Dozens of flights were canceled in Northern Ireland's capital Belfast, several ferries between Northern Ireland and Scotland were canceled, and many train connections were canceled in Wales. The Welsh Football Association canceled all games, including the Merseyside derby between Everton and Liverpool in the English Premier League.
Train services in France also stopped
Storms related to “Darragh” were also warned in France. The weather service Météo-France issued a level orange warning for nine departments in the northwest and two more in the southeast. In view of the strong winds, rail operator SNCF announced the suspension of train services on the Normandy regional rail network for the weekend.
