Storm hits Scandinavia: 3 dead as storm hits Great Britain

Scandinavia was under attack
3 people died in the storm in Britain

October 20, 2023, 8:27 pm

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The most severe effects of the storm surge are still expected along the Baltic Sea coast; It has already had disastrous consequences in Great Britain. Three people die. However, it is still unclear.

A current low pressure area that has caused a storm surge along the German Baltic Sea coast has also caused severe flooding in Great Britain. Three people died in Scotland and England, police said. Hundreds of people were trapped in flooded homes and the storm caused massive traffic disruptions.

According to Police Scotland, the body of a 57-year-old woman was recovered from floodwaters in County Angus on Thursday afternoon. In the evening, a 56-year-old woman died in Angus after her car was hit by a falling tree. On Friday, a 60-year-old man died after being swept away by floods in the central English county of Shropshire.

The flooding was caused by a depression called “Babbet”, also known as “Victor” in Germany. The British Met Office has issued the highest red warning level for areas in the east of Scotland. He predicted “exceptional rainfall” of up to 22 centimeters on Friday and Saturday. Scottish Prime Minister Hamza Yusuf said he could not stress “how dire” the situation was, particularly in Brechin in north-east Scotland.

The small town is only accessible by boat this Friday. Rescue workers tried to bring the flood victims to safety but were hampered by strong currents. “People are stuck,” said Councilwoman Jill Scott. “Some people wait for hours.”

The impact of the storm was felt as far as central and southern England, where heavy rain and strong winds caused significant disruption to train services. In north-west England and north Wales, some routes had to be closed completely due to flooding, railway officials said.

The plane slides off the runway

At an airport in the northern English city of Leeds, a Boeing 737-800 flight from Corfu skidded off the runway in strong winds. No injuries were reported following the incident. In northeast England, the storm damaged a lighthouse at the mouth of the River Tyne. Officials said ships are currently not allowed to pass through the estuary due to flooding.

Before “Babbet” reached Scotland, the low moved over Ireland. Hundreds of homes were flooded in the southern Irish county of Cork this week. Officials said the rainfall was worst in the last 30 years. In Middleton, a care home for the elderly was flooded and forced to evacuate.

Scandinavian countries also braced for the storm. Meteorological services in Sweden and Denmark have issued warnings of heavy rain, flooding and strong winds.

The storm surge reached the coasts of southern and eastern Denmark, causing power outages and evacuations. Police called on residents and holidaymakers on Platform X to leave the area around Sanderswick Strand immediately in the afternoon. At a summer residence near Haderslev (Hadersleben) in southeastern Jutland, a dyke broke. On the island of Mon in southeastern Denmark, residents of a summer home were also asked to leave their homes by Friday evening. Flooding is expected there, the responsible municipality wrote on its website.

Power outage in Denmark

About 200 Danish households were left without electricity. As electricity supplier N1 told broadcaster TV2, summer homes in the areas of Aabenraa (Aabenraa) and Gråsten Havn, far from the German-Danish border, were particularly affected.

Danish air and boat traffic was severely restricted. In the afternoon, Copenhagen Airport announced at Terminal X that 101 of the 750 scheduled flights for the day had been canceled due to strong winds. Also flights may be canceled and major delays may occur in the evening.

The German-Danish ferry service on the routes between Gedser and Rostock and Rødby and Puttgarden was completely suspended. According to shipping company Scandlines, ferries are expected to resume operations from Saturday morning.

Easterly winds also caused restrictions in Denmark’s neighbors Sweden and Norway. In southern Sweden, several train lines were closed due to flooding, the TT news agency reported. The Norwegian Meteorological Agency has warned of storms and strong winds in the south and southwest of the country.