EXTREME WEATHER EVENTS
Hurricane-force Storm Xaver Blasts Northern Europe
British govt warns of “the most serious coastal tidal surge for over 60 years in England.”
British authorities shut down the Thames Barrier Thursday night, designed to protect London from exceptional tides, and evacuated scores of homes in Great Yarmouth, eastern England , and other coastal areas in the path of the ferocious storm.
The mega storm has already claimed several lives and cut power to hundreds of thousands of homes throughout northern Europe, including more than 100,000 homes across northern Britain.
The UK Met Office recorded winds of up to 225 km/h (140MPH) as the storm battered Scotland and northern England.
A woman walks through flooded street in Rhyl, north Wales December 5, 2013. Credit: REUTERS/Phil Noble
The authorities were forced to shut down the entire rail network in Scotland on Thursday, due to debries and damaged equipment. Various regional networks across the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden and northern Germany were also closed, as hundreds of domestic and international flights were cancelled across the entire region.
“Germany’s northern port of Hamburg was preparing for a direct hit, which some forecasters said could be as powerful as a storm and flood in the city in 1962 that killed 315.” Reuters reported.
“The truly dangerous thing about this storm is that the winds will continue for hours and won’t let up,” said a German meteorologist. “The danger of coastal flooding is high.”
- Flights from Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen airports in Scotland have been cancelled.
- “Railway lines in Sweden and Denmark were closed, while Germany’s national railway, Deutsche Bahn, warned of likely disruption across a swathe of northern Germany.” BBC reported.
- Ferries to Germany from Denmark and Sweden were also cancelled.
- North Sea oil and gas producers have shut down operations and evacuated staff from many platforms.
What you should know by now
Related LinksDecember 4, 2013
- Britain Set for “Worst Winter in History” December 2, 2013
- ‘Catastrophic Losses’ of Animals Feared due to UK Spring Snow Posted on March 26, 2013
- How Homo Ignarus Killed Spring Posted on March 21, 2013
- Intensifying Winter Drought in England Worst Since 1888 Posted on March 12, 2012
- British Govt Makes Another Straw Man March 17, 2010
- Group Forecast Climate change could directly affect about half the population in the UK in the next 3 to 5 years November 20, 2009
Fire Earth 