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UK Issues Rare ‘Danger-To-Life’ Red Alert As It Faces Worst Storm In Decades

(Photo: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

Melanie Wilcox Contributor
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As storm Eunice picked up speed with winds as high as 122 miles per hour, the United Kingdom’s Met Office expanded its “danger-to-life” weather alert Friday to include the south of England and some areas of Wales, CNN reported.

In the southwestern London area of Surbiton, a CNN reporter saw a rooftop fly off a home and crush a parked car. (RELATED: NBC News Reporter Nearly Gets Toppled Over By ‘Monster’ Storm Ida During Live Broadcast)

Residents have also posted images of fallen trees and fences.

 

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Apart from crushing cars and toppling fences, Storm Eunice has also sent planes skidding on airport runways, according to CNN.

More than 200,000 people watched a live stream on YouTube of planes trying to land at London’s Heathrow Airport, battling wind gusts and skidding from side-to-side on the runway, according to CNN.

Presenter Jerry Dyer gave encouraging, entertaining words on the Big Jet’s TV channel, saying to the pilot, “Come on mate, you can do it!”

British Airways said that although “significant disruption” was to be expected, most flights would continue as scheduled. The airline said it would use larger aircraft to combat the weather.

“Safety is our number one priority, and we’re canceling a number of flights,” British Airways said in a statement, according to CNN.