Western Europe Faces Storm's Destruction

At least 12 are killed as high winds tear parts of roofs off arenas, topple crane, damage buildings
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Feb 19, 2022 2:45 PM CST
Western Europe Faces Storm's Destruction
Waves break Saturday on the beach of Altefaehr on the island of Ruegen, northern Germany. The silhouette of the Hanseatic city of Stralsund can be seen in the background. A stormy depression is passing over Germany with heavy squalls and heavy showers.   (Stefan Sauer/dpa via AP)

Crews cleared fallen trees and worked to restore power to about 400,000 people in Britain as Western Europe cleaned up Saturday after one of the most damaging storms in years. At least 12 people were killed, many by falling trees, in Ireland, Britain, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany. Named Storm Eunice by the British and Irish weather services and Storm Zeynep in Germany, Friday's storm was the second to hit the region in a week. Winds toppled the spire of a church in Wells, southwest England, ripped off parts of the domed roof of London's O2 Arena, and left a trail of felled trees and damaged buildings across several countries, the AP reports.

A gust of 122mph was provisionally recorded Friday on the Isle of Wight. If confirmed, it would be the highest ever in England; hurricane-force winds begin at 74mph. The Met Office weather service said more strong winds would hit the southern coasts of England and Wales on Saturday, with the potential for further damage, while snow and ice could cause disruption farther north. The UK's rail association said routes across most of Britain were still affected by the weather on Saturday morning, with disruptions to continue throughout the day. Transport in Germany also remained severely disrupted, with railway operator Deutsche Bahn saying no long-distance trains would operate north of Dortmund, Hannover, and Berlin until at least 6pm.

The storm left at least three people dead in Germany, including a man who fell as he was trying to repair a damaged roof and a driver whose car crashed into a tree that had fallen across a road. In the northwestern city of Bremen, a 180-foot crane fell onto an unfinished office building. Cleanup also was underway in the Netherlands, where four people died as Eunice tore across the country on Friday. Train services, halted during the storm, remained disrupted. Engineers were expected to assess damage to the roof of a stadium in The Hague where professional soccer team ADO The Hague plays, after parts of the structure were blown loose. Across the country, teams were shifting fallen trees and beginning to repair roofs damaged by the storm.

(More storm stories.)

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