LONDON – Strong winds caused by Storm Pia on Thursday grounded flights in parts of the United Kingdom, suspended train service and halted Scottish ferries in a preview of the holiday travel disruptions likely to hit northern Europe as the storm moves east.
Meanwhile, in a non-weather-related development, a surprise strike by French workers added to the travel chaos by shutting down Eurostar trains between London and Paris, leaving thousands of travelers stranded.
Strong gusts knocked out power to tens of thousands of homes in northern England, overturned a truck on a motorway in Manchester, ripped part of the roof off an apartment building in Sheffield and, in good news, helped generate a record amount Of electricity.
A gust of 115mph was recorded at the summit of Cairngorm in the Scottish Highlands as the national weather service warned of winds of up to 80mph in northern Scotland and 55mph in northern England and Northern Ireland. There was also an ice and snow warning for the Shetland Islands, where schools were closed.
A plane lands on Thursday at Leeds Bradford airport, in England. AP
The storm hit as commuters took to the roads, railways and skies to get ahead of holiday traffic that was expected to peak on Friday.
When wind warnings expired Thursday afternoon, the storm barreled into Europe and was expected to cause similar problems there.
Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport warned that “a significant number of flights” would be delayed or canceled due to strong winds.
Workers remove a fallen tree in the village of Stanley in Derbyshire. ZUMAPRESS.com
Dutch authorities closed several storm barriers on major rivers as a precaution due to high water levels.
The storm is expected to reach southern Sweden on Thursday night with thunderstorms, heavy snowfall and poor visibility across the region, the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute said.
In Germany, national rail operator Deutsche Bahn said there were delays and cancellations of trains in Schleswig-Holstein and Lower Saxony, the two largest states on the North Sea coast. The affected lines included those from Hanover to Berlin and Frankfurt, and those from Hamburg to and from western Germany and Denmark.
The Federal Office of Navigation and Hydrography warned of a possible storm surge on Thursday night on the North Sea coast, which could raise water levels up to 2.5 meters (8.20 feet) above high tide half. Some ferries to or from the North Sea islands were canceled for Thursday or Friday.
The storm was expected to reach southern Sweden on Thursday night with a storm Keith Fairbrother / SplashNews.com
In the United Kingdom, gusts downed trees that blocked roads and hit power lines, causing blackouts in 40,000 homes in northeast England, energy company Northern Powergrid said.
A driver was hospitalized when a tree collided with his car in Clifton, Derbyshire.
The winds generated a record 21.8 gigawatts of electricity, supplying 56% of all power used from the grid in Britain between 8 and 8:30 a.m., the National Electricity System Operator said. Network. It surpassed the previous record of 21.6 gigawatts.
British Airways suspended two dozen flights, British broadcaster Sky News reported. An airline spokesperson did not provide further details but issued a statement saying he apologized to customers for having to “make some adjustments” to their schedule.
A surprise strike by French workers created chaos on Eurostar trains. AFP via Getty Images
National Rail said speed restrictions were in place for trains in Scotland and parts of England and Wales. ScotRail said it suspended service on some of its lines and TransPennine Express asked train passengers to delay their journeys in and out of Edinburgh for most of the day.
Ferry operator CalMac has canceled its service to 22 islands off the west coast of Scotland.
Categories: Trending
Source: vtt.edu.vn