Three severe winter storms have killed at least 14 people as raging winds and heavy rain continued to pummel Northern Europe on Monday.
The storms made landfall in Europe over the past week, with the high gusts of wind and heavy rainfall causing severe flooding, toppled trees and other damage in countries including Ireland, England, Germany and France, The Associated Press reported.
#WATCH Thousands of customers remain without power after Storm #Franklin battered the country last night@nicole_gernon has the latest ⤵️#VMNews | @MetEireann | @ESBNetworks pic.twitter.com/orUhpjZMBm
— Virgin Media News (@VirginMediaNews) February 21, 2022
Storms Dudley and Eunice hit first, followed shortly by Storm Franklin. Before workers had handled clearing the debris from the first set of storms, Franklin made landfall in the U.K. on Sunday, leaving thousands without power, according to the AP.
A north London woman in her 30s died Friday after the effects of Storm Eunice caused a tree to fall on her car, according to the Metropolitan Police Service’s statement. She passed away at the scene, while the male driver of the car was taken to the hospital, according to police.
Meteorologists believe the storms are being developed due to an abnormally powerful jet stream over the North Atlantic Ocean, causing gusts of wind up to 122 mph in some areas, the AP reported.
A male passenger in his 50s traveling in Netherton, England, was also killed Friday after debris fell on the windshield of the vehicle he was in, according to The New York Times.
“This is very tragic incident and our sympathies go out to the family and friends of the passenger and anyone else who has been affected,” Merseyside Police Sergeant Amy Murrays said in a statement.
England’s Environment Agency (EA) was forced to issue over 300 flood warnings and alerts as heavy rains and high winds disrupted travel and evacuations, The AP reported. Katherine Smith, EA’s flood duty manager, said the country is “still facing a significant flooding risk,” according to the agency’s statement.
“We have teams out on the ground taking preventative action, closing flood gates, deploying temporary barriers, and moving pumps and other response equipment to areas of highest risk,” said Smith in the EA’s statement. “We advise people to stay away from swollen rivers and not to drive through floodwater as just 30cm (almost 12 inches) of flowing water is enough to move your car.”
Smith said in the statement the preventative measures deployed by the EA protected over 40,000 properties.
La route submersible de Bricqueville-sur-Mer a des côtés pittoresques sous le soleil mais peut se révéler fatale lorsque les conditions météorologiques sont particulièrement dégradées. Les pensées de la @Gendarmerie_050 vont à la famille et aux proches des deux victimes. pic.twitter.com/vf3RGaOZNB
— Gendarmerie de la Manche (@Gendarmerie_050) February 21, 2022
A small town outside Normandy, Bricqueville-Sur-Mer, suffered the loss of a couple in their 70s after floodwaters swept their car into the English Channel, reported The AP.
Bricqueville-Sur-Mer Mayor Herve Bougon said the wind pushed the car belonging to the couple, who called for help but were unable to be saved in time, onto its side and into the water, according to the outlet.