Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: Thousands of homes were blacked out, aircraft were grounded and train services disrupted as Storm Goretti, described as a “weather bomb,” hurled galeforce winds and heavy snow at northern Europe on January 9, reported Reuters. The storm has brought severe conditions to Britain, France, and other Western European countries.
The storm slammed into Britain on January 8 before moving eastward into continental Europe. In snowbound Germany, the state railway called it one of the most severe weather events in recent years. Around 380,000 households lost electricity in France, mainly in Normandy and Brittany, although later about 60,000 had been reconnected, and 60,000 homes in Scotland and central England suffered the same fate.
Wind speed
The storm pummelled the Isles of Scilly with wind gusts up to 159 kilometres per hour recorded in the archipelago off the southwestern tip of England. According to National Grid, more than 57,000 people were without power across southwestern England, the Midlands and Wales. More than 250 schools across Scotland were closed. The storm had also disrupted train services across England, Scotland and Wales.
Winds of more than 150 kph (93 mph) were recorded in France’s northwestern Manche region, with a record 213 kph in Barfleur, forcing the SNCF rail operator to suspend services between Paris and Normandy. The French state energy company EDF said Storm Goretti had required two reactors to be taken offline at the Flamanville power station after a high-voltage line was disrupted, while roofs were torn off and trees uprooted. Wholesale power prices rose across Western Europe.
In northern Germany, state-owned Deutsche Bahn halted long-distance train services until further notice, citing one of the most severe winter weather events in many years. At Hamburg Airport, northern Germany’s busiest air terminal, about 40 flights were cancelled.
Thousands of homes and businesses across northern France and southern England were without power on January 9, and residents faced widespread travel delays after Storm Goretti swept in off the Atlantic, bringing high winds, rain and snow to the region.
