Two storms slam northern Europe, cut power to 150,000 homes
A pair of storms battering northern Europe have killed one man, cut power to more than 150,000 homes, and disrupted flights and phone networks. More than 82,000 homes in the United Kingdom, nearly 60,000 in France, and at least 10,000 in Germany had no electricity on Sunday after storms Boelo and Austen passed through the region within 24 hours, according to authorities in the countries. Recommended Stories list of 3 items list 1 of 3 Hurricane Trudy makes its way towards Mexico, threatening heavy rain list 2 of 3 Four dead as torrential rain batters eastern Spain list 3 of 3 Typhoon Champi hits Taiwan, killing one and injuring hundreds end of list A falling tree killed a man, 60, in southwestern Scotland on Sunday, while another falling tree injured two women in central Scotland, the Press Association reported.
Left out here: Leaves out what changes the picture
The article says the storms killed one man and reports only the 60-year-old killed by a falling tree in southwestern Scotland. It leaves out the second death the BBC had already reported: a man in his 20s killed in north London when a tree fell on the car he was driving. Without it a reader believes the storms killed one person when at least two men had died.
How we know
- BBC News reported“Two men have been killed by falling trees on Sunday as Storm Boelo continues to bring severe weather to the UK. A man in his 20s was pronounced dead in north London after the car he was driving was hit by a falling tree.”Two men killed by falling trees as Storm Boelo leaves 160,000 properties without power (opens in a new tab)
- Sky News reported“a man in his 20s died in north London after a tree fell on his car, authorities said.”Two men killed by falling trees and 90,000 without power - as Storm Boelo recovery under way (opens in a new tab)
Winds of up to 135 km/h (84 mph) were recorded in the Argyll and Bute regions of western Scotland. Trees and power cables brought down by the storm blocked roads and rail lines across Scotland and northern England. In Brighton, on England’s southern coast, Austen blew away an unused pier on Friday. Authorities have warned of flood risk in regions of both Scotland and England. The Met Office, the UK’s national forecaster, warned that Boelo would bring a danger to life from flying debris and crashing waves and said people should stay indoors as much as possible.
From France to Germany Across the English Channel, Europe battled its first big storm of the autumn, with strong winds inflicting widespread power cuts. French energy company Enedis said that at Austen’s peak on Saturday, some 288,000 homes had no electricity. Some 59,000 remained without power at midday Sunday, mainly in Normandy and Brittany. A marathon runner in the midst of a race in northern France was lightly injured by a tree knocked over in strong winds.
Advertisement In Germany, Austen cut power to 10,000 homes in and around the southwestern town of Freiburg-Breisgau on Sunday. The town’s main hospital said it had to limit service to emergency cases because of the blackout, which also cut the mobile phone network. German police said two people were seriously hurt on Saturday by scaffolding blown away by Austen’s strong winds at a market in the town of Nastatten. The storms also hit the Netherlands and Belgium, where falling trees injured four people in Brussels on Saturday.
In the Netherlands, north of the island of Schiermonnikoog, three crew members on board a freight ship were injured in the storms, according to the country’s coastguard. Two of them were winched off and taken by helicopter to a hospital on the mainland. The storms caused hundreds of flights to be cancelled or diverted across northern Europe, including at Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport, one of the continent’s busiest hubs. Experts have warned of more extreme weather events due to climate change.
Read the original article on aljazeera.com (opens in a new tab)