Two Fatalities Reported as Storm Darragh Causes Widespread Disruption Across UK

Two men have lost their lives after trees fell onto their vehicles during Storm Darragh, as powerful winds and heavy precipitation continue to affect the UK. Wind gusts reaching up to 93mph impacted some regions earlier on Saturday, with the storm causing considerable disruption in south Wales, western England, and Northern Ireland, leading to numerous train service and flight cancellations. A Met Office red warning for parts of Wales and south-west England concluded at 11:00 GMT on Saturday, though an amber warning for continued strong winds remains active through the evening. Throughout the day, hundreds of thousands of residences nationwide experienced power outages, with over 1,000 engineers dispatched. Thousands of properties are still without electricity supply. Yellow weather warnings for wind are set to remain in effect across most of the UK until early Sunday morning. West Midlands Police reported that a man died in Birmingham’s Erdington area after a tree struck his car just after 3pm on Saturday. In Lancashire, a man in his 40s passed away after a tree collapsed onto his Citroen van, according to police. Emergency services were summoned at approximately 09:00 GMT following the incident on the A59 at Longton. He died at the scene. In Wales, Dyfed-Powys Police has declared a major incident covering the counties of Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion, Pembrokeshire, and Powys. The force stated it was receiving a high volume of calls regarding fallen trees and hazardous driving conditions. Elsewhere, the owners of Llandudno Pier in Conwy commented on Saturday that it had taken “an absolute battering,” with a 150-year-old unit “ripped off [its] foundations and tipped onto its side.” A section of the roof at Castle Douglas High School in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, was blown off during an amber weather warning, and a clean-up operation is now under way. Energy Secretary Ed Miliband stated on Saturday evening that energy networks had more than “1,000 engineers out seeking to restore supplies” throughout the day. Northern Ireland Electricity Networks had earlier indicated that power cuts were affecting over 46,000 premises. Approximately three million individuals received a government emergency alert on their mobile phones on Friday evening, offering advice about the storm. This marked the largest deployment of the UK warning system to date, producing a loud, siren-like sound on devices for about 10 seconds upon delivery. Although adverse weather conditions persist, the UK has passed the peak of its strongest winds, after gusts of 93mph were recorded in Capel Curig, north Wales, and 92mph in Aberdaron on the Llyn Peninsula on Saturday morning. Both Bristol Airport and Cardiff Airport are advising passengers to contact their airline or tour operator due to anticipated disruptions. Network Rail announced that all lines on the network in Wales – except for those between Cardiff and Bristol via the Severn Tunnel, and the Core Valley lines – would remain closed for the rest of Saturday. In Wales, all domestic football and rugby matches scheduled for Saturday were cancelled, as was Cardiff City’s Championship fixture against Watford, which had been due to kick off at 15:00. Richard Griffiths, owner of the Richmond Hotel in Aberystwyth, reported that the town was in “complete darkness” following an earlier power cut. All of London’s Royal Parks are closed on Saturday, including the Winter Wonderland attraction in Hyde Park. Horse races planned for this afternoon at Aintree in Merseyside and Chepstow in south Wales were abandoned due to the weather. The Premier League match between Everton v Liverpool, scheduled at Merseyside’s Goodison Park, has also been postponed. In Northern Ireland, where an amber weather warning is in place until 21:00 GMT, multiple Christmas events have been cancelled this weekend. Belfast City Council stated its Christmas market would be closed on Saturday, while the Enchanted Winter Garden events at Antrim Castle Gardens were cancelled for both Friday and Saturday. Storm Darragh has also brought substantial rainfall over the weekend, resulting in 144 flood alerts – signifying that flooding is possible – in England. There are 71 alerts in Wales, which was severely impacted by flooding during Storm Bert and where the ground remains highly saturated. Storm Darragh is the fourth named storm of the season, following Bert and Conall, which caused severe flooding last month. Copyright 2024 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.