“There is a risk of severe storm force gusts (level 3 out of 4). Maximum gust: 100-115 km / h”, warned the German meteorological services, warning of the risks of uprooted trees, falling branches or even damaged roofs.
“In particular, please keep away from buildings, trees, scaffolding and power lines. If possible, avoid staying outside”
Scenes of desolation, transport stopped
Because this storm left a spectacle of desolation in its path and caused significant disruption.
Hundreds of flights, trains and ferries were canceled across northwestern Europe as extreme winds from Eunice swept through less than 48 hours after Storm Dudley (at least six dead in Poland and Germany).
At this stage, 16 deaths have been recorded because of Eunice: two in Poland and Germany, four in the Netherlands, three in England, two in Ireland as well as in Belgium. According to Ghent police, a 37-year-old man hit in the head on Friday by a solar panel that had flown away succumbed to his injuries on Saturday. Many of these deaths are due to trees falling on vehicles.
In Germany, “more than 1,000 kilometers of railway tracks were damaged”, according to a spokesperson for the railway company Deutsche Bahn, mainly by falling trees, partly paralyzing traffic in the north of the country . The peak of the storm has nevertheless passed and the alert (a level three on a scale of four) from the German meteorological services has been lifted.
In the Netherlands, in the capital The Hague, dozens of houses were evacuated for fear of the collapse of the bell tower of a church. The Dutch rail network was disrupted and Thalys Amsterdam Brussels connections interrupted, with a resumption expected in the afternoon according to a spokesperson.
In Poland, there are a million in the same situation, according to local authorities and several rail links are suspended.
New gale this Saturday
According to the British forecaster Met Office, clearing operations are expected to be disrupted by a new gale, less strong nevertheless, expected in certain parts of the United Kingdom. At least 400,000 homes remain without electricity Saturday morning in the country.
They are 194,000 in the same situation in Poland, according to local authorities and several rail links are suspended.
Injuries and heavy damage in the north of France
In France, around 37,000 homes are still without electricity this Saturday in the Nord and Pas-de-Calais. Friday at 4 p.m., at the height of the storm, the number of households concerned had reached 170,000 throughout Hauts-de-France, including 160,000 in the Nord and Pas-de-Calais.
Waves sometimes exceeding nine meters were recorded in Brittany as well as gusts of wind locally reaching 176 km / h at Cape Griser.
With winds of nearly 140 km / h in Calais and nearly 130 km / h in Lille, the storm caused significant material damage in Hauts-de-France and injured at least six people seriously and around twenty more slightly. , in road accidents due to wind, falling trees or due to falling materials. . It also disrupted or shut down all modes of transportation in the region.
Strong gusts of wind coupled with high tides raise fears of flooding, especially as heavy rains were expected for Saturday.
Winds at 200 km/h
In England, a gust of 196 km / h was recorded on the Isle of Wight, unheard of, while others were measured at more than 110 km / h inland, including at London airport Heathrow.