A new hurricane on Friday claimed the first fatalities in the Netherlands, Great Britain and Ireland. In Amsterdam alone, three people died from falling trees, including a cyclist. In Germany, hurricane “Zeynep” has already killed two people. Both died in storm-related traffic accidents.
The storm with hurricane-force gusts paralyzed public life in large parts of the country. Train and local public transport were suspended, air traffic was affected. A woman died in the UK when a tree fell on her car. Police say a man was killed when debris fell on the windscreen of his vehicle in north-west England. Ireland also reported one fatality. The number of victims now totals at least eight in Europe.
Highest warning level “red”
In Great Britain, the storm raged earlier and caused severe destruction, including at a power station near the city of Rochester. In London, the highest warning level “red” was declared for the first time. Videos circulating on the internet showed how the covering of the Millennium Dome in the London Borough of Greenwich was partially torn away. Underneath the tent-like construction erected at the turn of the millennium is the O2 Arena, where music and sporting events are often held.
In London, storm Eunice, as Zeynep is called in the British Isles, literally threw people overboard.
“It just won’t calm down”
In Germany, the German Weather Service (DWD) expected the hurricane to reach the North Sea coast around midnight on Saturday night. It is the second severe storm situation in Germany within a short period of time. It should remain stormy at least until Monday, according to the DWD. “There is simply no peace,” said a meteorologist.
According to the experts, the focus of the new storm situation should be on the northern half of Germany until Saturday morning. However, the DWD also issued severe weather warnings for hurricane-force gusts for more southern regions – parts of Rhineland-Palatinate, Hesse and for northern regions of Bavaria.
In Hamburg, a tree fell on two parked cars in a storm on Friday, slightly injuring a child. A police spokesman said it was cycling when the tree fell. The fire brigade appealed to people in Germany to stay at home.
The district of Goslar in Lower Saxony announced that the students could not be promoted everywhere on Friday. Therefore, face-to-face classes in all general and vocational schools were canceled there. From Hamburg it was said that those with custody could decide for themselves whether their child should stay at home. In the administrative district of Arnsberg in North Rhine-Westphalia, school was canceled from noon. In Bochum, parents should pick up their children earlier.
Wind speeds up to 160 kilometers per hour
Long-distance and regional traffic should be gradually stopped on Friday in northern Germany and parts of North Rhine-Westphalia. The protection of travelers and employees has priority, it said. Passengers can use their tickets booked for the period from Thursday to Sunday flexibly until February 27 or cancel free of charge if they postpone trips because of the storm.
Wind speeds of up to 160 kilometers per hour were expected on the North Sea coast on Saturday night. In the second half of the night, «Zeynep» should hit the coast of the Baltic Sea, and then gradually subside. This means that the risk of storms has been banned for the time being, even if it stays stormy, said a DWD meteorologist.
A storm surge was expected on the North Sea coast, in Hamburg, according to the forecast by the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH), a severe storm surge with water levels three meters above normal high water on Saturday night. The highest water level will probably be reached between 5 a.m. and 6 a.m. on Saturday morning, said Bernd Brügge from the BSH.
On the North Sea coast, one speaks of a storm surge when the flood water is at least 1.5 meters higher than normal. A severe or very severe storm surge is only spoken of from values of 2.5 or 3.5 meters. The fish market in Hamburg-Altona was flooded early on Friday morning.
Waves up to four meters high on the coasts of France
In France, the weather service issued a severe weather warning for five departments in the north. There was a risk of waves up to four meters high on the coasts.
According to an analysis by the energy company Eon, the previous hurricane “Ylenia” brought a wind power record. On Wednesday, with a peak of 47.12 gigawatts, more wind power was fed into the German power grid than ever before, according to Eon on Friday in Munich after evaluating data from the Federal Network Agency. The new high was reached on Wednesday evening.
In the previous storm, at least three drivers died in weather-related accidents in Lower Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt: Two were killed by falling trees, a third died when his trailer got into the oncoming lane in the storm and an accident occurred.
The winter storm “Ylenia” alone could cost Germany’s insurers half a billion euros, estimated the management consultancy Meyerthole Siems Kohlruss (MSK) in Cologne, which specializes in actuarial mathematics. Almost all regions of Germany were hit by the storm, the experts said on Friday. A loss of this magnitude occurs every one to two years. (SDA/oco/kes)