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Christmas
chaos: Hundreds
of flights delayed as fierce
storms rage worldwide
Over
a million homes and businesses without power, holiday plans destroyed
over flight cancelations – that’s how Christmas panned out for
some people across the globe, as deadly storms swept the planet.
A
power cut at the North Terminal of London’s Gatwick airport caused
flight cancelations, before all flights were transferred to the South
Terminal.
In
Belgium, winds reached 100 kilometers per hour. Traffic was disrupted
in the capital Brussels, after uprooted trees crashed through power
cables.
Moving
further south in Europe: in Spanish airports such as Bilbau,
Asturias, Santander and Vigo, flights are being canceled.
Across
the Atlantic, 14 people have been killed in ice and snow storms that
battered central, northeastern US, and Canada.
RT,
25
December, 2013
The
disaster is expected to carry on at least for a few more days.
In
the UK, stormy weather has killed five people since Monday. 150,000
homes were left without electricity. Scotland and Northern Ireland
are also due to be hit by powerful winds of 140 kilometers per hour.
Weather
and flood warnings have been issued across the country, leading to
hazardous driving conditions.
A grey sky is seen over Madrid on
December 24, 2013. (AFP Photo / Pierre-Philippe Marcou)
"I'm
across plans to get electricity to many without power. My thoughts
are with them and those facing travel problems this Christmas
Eve," British
prime Minister David Cameron tweeted.
Parts of the roof of the Theatre
Hangar are seen on the Dakota airplane after the roof was partially
blown away by strong winds at the former airfield in Valkenburg on
December 24, 2013. (AFP Photo / Bas Czerwinski)
A
teenager has died in Normandy in France, following a wall collapse at
a building site. Extremely strong winds and torrential rain hit the
country, especially in Brittany and Normandy.
Naval
authorities also reported a Russian sailor missing after having been
flown off board a vessel off the coast of Brest in Brittany,
according to Reuters.
120,000
homes across France are experiencing a power blackout due to the
disaster, according to Le Nouvel Observateur media outlet.
In
the south of France, the situation isn’t any better: a ski resort
at La Pierre Saint Martin was closed over the dangerous weather
conditions, its manager, Dominique Rousseau, told Euronews.
The
international airport at Nice was closed down, with all incoming and
outgoing flights canceled until at least 12.00 GMT, due to poor
visibility on the runway, a spokesman said as quoted by Reuters.
Heavy
downpours also caused cancellations of rail, flight and ferry
services.
The
storm largely subsided in the north of France on Wednesday, but
continued to batter southeastern France and the Mediterranean
coastline.
A man carries a boy in a flooded
street in Morlaix, Britanny, where the city center is under 1.4
metres (four feet) of water on December 24, 2013. (AFP Photo / Frank
Perry)
Red
alerts – the most dangerous possible - have been issued in two
districts in Portugal, while another 15 districts are under orange
alert, the second highest level.
Authorities
have also warned the population to stay away from the coast until
Thursday, with waves expected to reach seven meters.
Portugal
is also experiencing major power cuts, with the electricity supplier
EDP saying that 1,000 of its staff are currently carrying out
emergency works in north and central areas of the country.
Waves break along the shore in
Portstewart in Northern Ireland, on December 24, 2013. (AFP Photo /
Peter Muhly)
Over
500,000 homes and businesses have experienced a major power blackout
in the US. Power provider, Consumers Energy, based in Jackson,
Michigan, told AP that the area hasn’t seen so many storms since
the company’s founding 126 years ago. About 17 percent (over
300,000) of all customers lost power on Saturday, and half remained
without power on Tuesday.
More
snow is expected to hit the US, as the storm is moving into the Great
Lakes region and Midwest on Wednesday.
US
authorities are keeping emergency shelters open for those who have
experienced a power blackout in their home.
In
Canada two people died from carbon monoxide poisoning after using a
gas generator to heat their home northeast of Toronto, Ontario, after
a power blackout.
90,000
homes were without power in Toronto, according to the authorities, as
quoted by AP.
Storms
bring Christmas misery to southern England
Thousands
of people suffer power cuts and hundreds forced from their homes as
wind and rain disrupts parts of UK
25
December, 2013
Tens
of thousands of people were left without power on Christmas
Day and dozens were evacuated from their homes as the stormy weather
continued to bring misery and serious disruption to southern and
central parts of the UK.
Some
householders who were still without power in Kent, Surrey and Sussex
were warned they may have to wait until the end of the week to get
supplies restored.
The
Energy Networks Association said 50,000 homes were without power,
adding that it was likely some would still be suffering a power
blackout on Boxing Day.
UK
Power Networks, which delivers power to about 8 million customers in
the south-east, the east of England and London, said the storm had
deprived about 300,000 properties of power – although for most it
was restored by engineers within minutes. It said its staff were
working to reconnect everyone else, with supplies restored to the
vast majority by Tuesday night and repair work continuing throughout
Christmas Day and Boxing Day .
By
the afternoon, UK Power Networks said there were 23,379 households in
the south-east without power, but added: "Due to the severity of
the storm damage in Kent, Surrey and Sussex, it may take until the
end of the week to restore power supplies to the final pockets of
customers in these areas, though work is continuing to reconnect
supplies as quickly as possible."
Emergency
services operate along streets submerged beneath floodwaters on
Christmas day in Yalding, Kent. Photograph: Matthew Lloyd/Getty
Images
The
company also said it had made arrangements for hundreds of people
without power to enjoy a Christmas dinner. "We're conscious that
a few people's Christmas dinners are going to be ruined so we're
trying to find ways we can help," said a spokesman. He said the
company would "foot the bill" to the tune of £40 per
customer.
The
Environment Agency (EA) said two severe weather warnings – the
highest level of alert, meaning there is a danger to life –
remained in place in the south-west. The EA issued 104 flood warnings
across England and Wales on Christmas Day, mainly in the south-east,
south-west and Midlands. A further 193 flood alerts were also in
place, with 90 in the south-east alone.
The
agency said 150 properties, mainly in the south and focused in Surrey
and Kent, had been flooded on Tuesday night.
A
man canoes along town centre streets submerged by floodwaters
checking on people in Yalding, England. Photograph: Matthew
Lloyd/Getty Images
The
storms and subsequent flooding
also saw striking firefighters suspend their industrial action in
parts of England.
Members
of the Fire Brigades Union in Surrey and Kent were recalled to duty
under the terms of an agreement between the union, the employers and
the government.
Around
90 people were evacuated from their homes on the river Stour near
Bournemouth in the early hours of Christmas Day. Police began to
evacuate residents of the Ilford Bridge Home Park shortly after 3am
following a severe flood warning from the Environment Agency. Fifteen
people were also evacuated from the Beaulieu Garden Park Home in
Christchurch, Dorset.
The
coastguard joined Kent fire and rescue service to rescue people from
the Little Venice Caravan and Marina Park in Yalding after rising
waters from the River Medway cut them off.
In
Surrey, residents were evacuated from their homes in Dorking,
Leatherhead, Godalming and Guildford, while more evacuations occurred
in Tonbridge, Kent.
Travellers
trying to get home on Christmas Eve had fought treacherous conditions
on the roads and suffered major delays as the rail network was
brought to its knees.
Flights
at Gatwick began to return to normal yesterday after the chaotic
scenes on Christmas Eve when a power cut at the North Terminal led to
cancellations and delays, leaving thousands of passengers stranded.
EasyJet said it would be operating a limited number of flights from
Gatwick to replace ones that should have operated on Tuesday, but
added it would be unable to schedule any further flights on Christmas
Day because of limited capacity at airports and crew availability.
Network
Rail said more than 200 trees had come down on lines in 24 hours,
adding that it had to deal with a further 100 major incidents.
Many
major roads were flooded or blocked on Christmas Eve, with Kent,
Hampshire, Surrey, Sussex and Cornwall among affected counties.
In
Dorset, fire crews had to rescue 25 people trapped in their cars by
flood water.
After
days of heavy rain and high winds, weather forecasters were
predicting a "much quieter" spell of weather.
"We
do have a few showers around and they could be heavy at times, and
some of them might bring more hail, which will give a whiteness to
things," said Kirk Waite, a forecaster at the Met Office.
Waite
said that although a storm coming on Friday was not expected to be as
severe as those of recent days, there would still be heavy rain,
which would bring "additional problems" to those places
already struggling with floods.
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