Two storms, arriving one upon the other within a single day, reminded the people of northern Europe how thin the threads are that hold ordinary life together. In Scotland a man of sixty lost his life to a falling tree, while across the UK, France and Germany more than 150,000 households sat in darkness, their phones, trains and flights thrown into disarray. The wind has always visited this coast, but the question now hanging over these grey autumn days is whether such visitations are becoming more frequent, and whether the electric and communal systems of the continent can bend without breakin
Storms Boelo and Austen Leave One Dead and 150,000 Homes Without Power Across Northern Europe
One man, 60, was killed by a falling tree in southwestern Scotland, and several others were injured across the region.
Two storms, one day, and 150,000 homes in the dark
Mark
Two storms in a day, and the numbers are big. What's the headline for you?
Mimi
The power. Over 150,000 homes dark on Sunday, and France peaked at 288,000 on Saturday. That's a lot of kitchens without a kettle.
Mark
And the human cost?
Mimi
One man, 60, killed by a falling tree in southwestern Scotland. Two women hurt by another tree in central Scotland, four injured in Brussels, two seriously hurt by scaffolding in Nastatten.
Luke
Careful with the 150,000. It's the sum of figures from three countries' authorities, taken at different times. France's 288,000 was Saturday's peak, not Sunday's count.
Mimi
Fair. Sunday's figures are 82,000 in the UK, nearly 60,000 in France, at least 10,000 in Germany.
Mark
The Freiburg hospital detail stands out.
Mimi
Yes. The blackout took out mobile phones too, and the hospital limited itself to emergencies.
Luke
We don't know how many patients were affected or for how long. The report only says it restricted service.
Mark
And the climate line at the end?
Luke
That's a general warning from experts. Nothing here ties Boelo or Austen specifically to climate change.
Mimi
Agreed. What's firm is the damage, and the flood warnings still standing in Scotland and England.
Der Puls
- A falling tree in southwestern Scotland claimed a 60-year-old man's life on Sunday, turning weather warnings into grief.
- Winds of up to 135 km/h tore through Argyll and Bute, sending trees and power cables across roads and rail lines.
- Blackouts swept through the UK, France and Germany, leaving over 150,000 homes without electricity and cutting mobile networks.
- In Freiburg, a hospital was forced to limit itself to emergency cases while crews worked to restore the grid.
- Flood warnings still stand in Scotland and England, and tens of thousands of homes remain dark as repairs continue.
Two storms, arriving one upon the other within a single day, reminded the people of northern Europe how thin the threads are that hold ordinary life together. In Scotland a man of sixty lost his life to a falling tree, while across the UK, France and Germany more than 150,000 households sat in darkness, their phones, trains and flights thrown into disarray. The wind has always visited this coast, but the question now hanging over these grey autumn days is whether such visitations are becoming more frequent, and whether the electric and communal systems of the continent can bend without breaking.
On Sunday, a 60-year-old man in southwestern Scotland was killed by a falling tree, the most grave loss in a region battered by two storms that arrived back to back. Storms Boelo and Austen together left more than 150,000 homes without electricity and snarled flights and phone networks across several countries.
The damage had begun earlier. On Friday in Brighton, Austen tore away an unused pier, and the Met Office warned that Boelo posed a danger to life from flying debris and crashing waves, urging people to stay indoors. In western Scotland, winds reached 135 km/h, and fallen trees and cables blocked roads and rail lines across Scotland and northern England. A second tree injured two women in central Scotland.
Across the Channel, France faced what was Europe's first major storm of the autumn. At Austen's peak on Saturday, some 288,000 homes were without power, and by Sunday midday about 59,000 remained dark, mostly in Normandy and Brittany. A marathon runner was lightly hurt when a tree fell during a race.
In Germany, the blackout around Freiburg-Breisgau cut power to 10,000 homes, took down mobile networks, and forced the main hospital to restrict its care to emergencies. The storms also reached the Netherlands and Belgium, where falling trees injured four people in Brussels, and three crew members of a freight ship were hurt off the Dutch island of Schiermonnikoog, two of them airlifted to hospital.
Hundreds of flights were cancelled or diverted, including at Amsterdam's Schiphol. With flood warnings still in place, restoring power is the immediate task, and experts warn that climate change will bring more storms of this kind.
On Sunday, a 60-year-old man in southwestern Scotland was killed by a falling tree, the most serious casualty of two storms that swept across northern Europe within a single day. Storms Boelo and Austen, arriving back to back, left more than 150,000 homes without electricity and disrupted flights and phone networks across several countries.
Authorities in each country put the Sunday outage figures at more than 82,000 homes in the United Kingdom, nearly 60,000 in France and at least 10,000 in Germany. In Scotland, the Press Association reported that a second falling tree injured two women in the central part of the country. Winds of up to 135 km/h (84 mph) were recorded in the Argyll and Bute regions of western Scotland, and downed trees and power cables blocked roads and rail lines across Scotland and northern England.
The damage had started earlier. On Friday in Brighton, on England's south coast, Austen blew away an unused pier. The Met Office, the UK's national forecaster, warned that Boelo carried a danger to life from flying debris and crashing waves, and advised people to stay indoors as much as possible. Authorities also warned of flood risk in parts of both Scotland and England.
Across the Channel, France met what was Europe's first big storm of the autumn. Enedis, the French energy company, said that at Austen's peak on Saturday some 288,000 homes were without power. By midday Sunday about 59,000 were still dark, mainly in Normandy and Brittany. In northern France, a marathon runner was lightly injured when strong winds knocked a tree over during the race.
Germany's worst Sunday disruption came in and around the southwestern town of Freiburg-Breisgau, where Austen cut power to 10,000 homes. The blackout also took down the mobile phone network, and the town's main hospital said it had to restrict its service to emergency cases. A day earlier, German police reported that two people were seriously hurt when Austen's winds blew scaffolding away at a market in the town of Nastatten.
The storms reached the Netherlands and Belgium as well. In Brussels, falling trees injured four people on Saturday. Off the Dutch island of Schiermonnikoog, three crew members aboard a freight ship were hurt, according to the Dutch coastguard; two were winched off and flown by helicopter to a hospital on the mainland.
Hundreds of flights were cancelled or diverted across northern Europe, including at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport, one of the continent's busiest hubs.
Flood warnings remain in place in Scotland and England, and with tens of thousands of homes in France and the UK still without power on Sunday, restoration is the immediate question. Experts have warned that climate change will bring more extreme weather events of this kind.
Bemerkenswerte Zitate
Boelo would bring a danger to life from flying debris and crashing waves, and people should stay indoors as much as possible.— Met Office, UK national forecaster
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