British authorities said the Thames Barrier, designed to protect London from flooding during exceptional tides, would shut tonight and warned of “the most serious coastal tidal surge for over 60 years in England”.
Prime minister David Cameron called two emergency meetings to discuss strategy.
Two people were killed in Britain as the nation’s weather office measured winds of up to 225 km/h when the storm slammed Scotland and parts of England.
A lorry driver was killed and four people injured when his vehicle overturned and collided with other vehicles in West Lothian, Scotland, police said, while a second man died near Nottingham in central England when he was hit by a falling tree.
More than 100,000 homes were left without power across Britain, 80,000 of them in Scotland, according to energy company SSE.
North Sea oil and gas producers including ConocoPhillips , Maersk Oil, and Statoil cut production and evacuated staff from some platforms.
All train services in Scotland were cancelled this morning due to debris on the tracks but services slowly resumed this afternoon.
Lifeboat crews were called out to rescue people from flooded homes in Rhyl in north Wales on Thursday morning.
Low-lying coastal areas of eastern England were waiting for the storm to hit on Thursday evening, with the Environment Agency issuing 41 severe flood warnings, the highest category.
Police were advising more than 15,000 people to evacuate east coast areas vulnerable to tidal surges, although sea defences have been strengthened since storms and flooding killed hundreds on the North Sea coast in 1953.
Germany’s northern port of Hamburg was preparing for a direct hit, which some forecasters said could be as powerful as a storm and flood in the city in 1962 that killed 315.
Hamburg airport cancelled all flights and many schools and Christmas markets were closed. Ferries to Germany’s North Sea islands were kept in port and some industrial plants closed.
“The truly dangerous thing about this storm is that the winds will continue for hours and won’t let up,” said Andreas Friedrich, a German weather service meteorologist. “The danger of coastal flooding is high.”
Mr Friedrich said people were being advised to stay indoors because of the risk of trees being toppled or roofs blown off. An extreme weather warning was issued for the northern states of Hamburg, Schleswig-Holstein, Lower Saxony and Bremen.
The Oresund bridge linking southern Sweden with Denmark was shut this afternoon. Some railway lines in southern Sweden were closed, with high winds expected in the south and heavy snow further north.
In Denmark, railroad company DSB said it would stop operating most trains. Airline Alsie Express cancelled all domestic flights and the 6.8 km Great Belt Bridge, which includes a 1.6 km suspension bridge section, was closed.
Trains in the northern Netherlands were halted, Dutch Railways said. At Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport 50 flights were cancelled, a spokeswoman said, adding there could be further cancellations.
http://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/europe/britain-prepares-for-most-serious-coastal-surge-for-60-years-1.1617876
5/12/13
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- UK to witness serious coastal tidal surge
The Thames Barrier has been closed to protect London from floods as forecasters have warned that gale force winds, large waves and high tides could cause chaos across the east of the UK.
UK's environmental agency has issued 28 severe flood warnings - its highest category - ahead of the most serious coastal tidal surge.
They said sea levels could reach the heights seen during the devastating floods of 1953 that left 307 people dead and 40,000 homeless.
The Agency said "In some areas, sea levels could be higher than those during the devastating floods of 1953. However, flood defenses built since then - including the Thames and Hull Barriers - mean that many parts of the country are much better protected than in 1953. The Environment Agency will be closing its Thames Barrier on Thursday to defend London, in addition to operating numerous other defenses such as those at Colne in Essex and Kings Lynn in Norfolk. Farmers are being urged to protect their livestock and consider moving them out of affected areas."
Communities along the North Sea coast from Northumberland down to the Thames Estuary and Kent, in addition to those on the Irish Sea coast from Cumbria down to Cheshire, could see significant coastal flooding later today and into Friday.
The coastline from Wells-next-the-Sea in Norfolk to Clacton, Essex, is particularly at risk, including Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft.
Severe flood warnings are currently in place across Kent, Norfolk and Suffolk.
At present there are an additional 137 flood warnings and 61 flood alerts in place across England.
The Environment Agency expects 3,000 properties to be flooded within the next 24 hours.
British prime minister David Cameron said the Environment Secretary is chairing a meeting of the Government's Emergency Cobra Committee to discuss the response to the storm.
In a message on Twitter Cameron said: "I have asked Environment Secretary Owen Paterson to chair a Cobra this morning on the storm disruption - ensuring everything is being done."
Gale force winds are already battering much of northern England and Scotland, with gusts of up to 142mph recorded in some areas.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/uk/UK-to-witness-serious-coastal-tidal-surge/articleshow/26915646.cms
5/12/13
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