Storm Austen leaves 19,000 homes without power as emergency services struggle to cope

Storm Austen sparked chaos across Cornwall after leaving as many as 19,000 homes without power at its peak. The huge outages have since eased, with around 7,000 properties still in the dark, but local leaders have warned rescue teams are stretched as multiple incidents hit at once. Thalia Marrington, who oversees community safety and public health at Cornwall Council, said the county’s geography makes it especially vulnerable when severe weather barrels in. Cornwall is “very exposed” and “surrounded by the coast”, she said, as communities faced disruption from the storm. And with another named system already on the way, she urged residents not to assume the danger has passed. “We’ve got Storm Boelo coming as well, so we can’t take our eye off what is going on and must keep aware of the situation,” she told presenter Barbara Serra. Ms Marrington also warned that the emergency response is being pushed hard by the scale of demand across the county’s scattered communities, Sky News reported. “Populations are sparsely located, so lots of little villages, and unfortunately the emergency services can only do so much,” she said. Her comments come as many residents continue to deal with storm damage, blocked routes and power disruption, with crews working to restore supplies and respond to reports as quickly as possible. Meanwhile, a scuffle erupted on a Cornish beach after a passerby reportedly challenged a young family about going into the sea despite red flags warning against it. During Storm Austen today (Friday, October 23), as gusts of up to 80mph battered parts of Cornwall, a couple and their two small children were filmed at Polzeath in wetsuits with bodyboards, playing in the surf, Cornwall Live reported. The family, who appeared to be the only people on the beach, were approached by a man just before 2pm, after which the father squared up and raised his fists as if ready to fight. Moments later he went back again and was seen throwing a punch at the man, who then walked away, while the father turned and made for the water with one of his children. This is a breaking news story and is being constantly updated. Please refresh the page regularly with the latest news, pictures and videos. **You can also get email updates on the day’s biggest stories straight to your inbox ** by signing up for our newsletters. Get all the very best headlines, pictures, opinion and video on the stories that matter to you by following Daily Star every time you see our name. **Follow Daily Star on Android - ** CLICK HERE **Follow Daily Star on Apple - ** CLICK HERE **Follow Daily Star on Snapchat - ** CLICK HERE You can also sign up for Twitter alerts for breaking news by following @‌starbreaksnews and follow us @‌dailystar for all the latest updates. Keep up-to-date with your must-see news, features, videos and pictures throughout the day by following us on Facebook at Daily Star .