Britainupdated 34m ago2 min read
Storm Austen Leaves More Than 10,000 Homes Without Power Across Southern England And Wales
This article is an automated aggregation of coverage from news outlets. Our editorials offer in-depth analysis curated by the NewsCord team.
More than 10,000 homes across southern England and Wales lost power. Part of Brighton's West Pier collapsed as Storm Austen battered the coast.
Explore source coverage 4 source types
Directory totals describe our source library, not outlets checked for this story.
The Independent was read line by line by the Watchdog: 3.9. See the score →
Storm Austen hits UK
Storm Austen battered southern England and Wales, leaving more than 10,000 homes without power as gusts of up to 84mph (135km/h) hit Jersey and fallen trees blocked railway lines and roads. The National Grid said engineers had restored power to more than 60,000 properties since Storm Austen began, while National Rail advised many routes were travelling at slower speeds.
In Brighton, a section of the iconic West Pier collapsed into the sea, and Stephen Royle said the waves rolling in were "enormous" and he was "shocked" by how much of the pier ended up in the sea. The Met Office put in place an amber warning for wind on Saturday and Sunday to cover parts of Scotland, northern England and Northern Ireland, and the storm was tracked eastwards after making landfall in the south-west overnight.
Power cuts and travel
Londoners were told to batten down loose items in their gardens and take care on the roads as Storm Austen unleashed "ferocious" winds of up to 80mph in the UK. Southern railway reported trees blocking lines between Haywards Heath and Three Bridges, Lewes and Brighton, Uckfield and Crowborough, and Fareham and Southampton Central, while London saw strong wind gusts of 42 to 55mph with yellow weather warnings in place until 9pm.
In Jersey, a wind gust of 84mph was recorded at the island’s airport just before 6am, and the Government of Jersey's Infrastructure and Environment Department said: "We could continue to see wind speeds at this level or a little higher for the next two to three hours." In the south-west, thousands of homes in Cornwall, Devon and Wales were hit by power cuts, and a "danger to life" amber warning covering Cornwall, Devon and the Isles of Scilly came into effect at 1am and remained in place until 10am.
Boelo follows Austen
The UK was forecast to continue being battered by strong winds and heavy rain over the weekend as Storm Boelo followed on the heels of Storm Austen, with the Met Office issuing an amber weather warning for wind for much of Scotland and the far north of Northern Ireland and England.
The Met Office forecast wind gusts of 60-70mph, with exposed coastal areas potentially seeing speeds of up to 80mph, and it warned that spray and surface water could make driving conditions hazardous while further downpours increased the risk of localised flooding.
The government released general advice for households to stock up on tinned food and bottled water, and Prime Minister Andy Burnham said: "It's not about panic buying... It's about just taking sensible measures to have enough in the house to tide you over".
The BBC also said all schools on Jersey and Guernsey closed for the day, and it reported that some ferry services between the UK and France were cancelled as travel disruption continued.