LONDON: Hundreds of thousands of people in Britain and Ireland were left without power and millions were warned to stay indoors Saturday as high winds and heavy rain battered the region.
Gusts of up to 93 miles per hour were recorded as officials sent a rare emergency alert by phone to about 3 million households in Wales and southwest England early Saturday.
The official alert, which came with a loud siren-like sound, warned people to stay indoors and was sent to every compatible mobile phone in the areas impacted by Storm Darragh.
On Friday the UK’s weather forecasters, the Met Office, issued a red weather warning — the most serious type. Thousands of homes, many in Northern Ireland, Wales and western England, were left without power overnight.
Major highways and bridges across the country were closed because of strong winds, and multiple train services were suspended.
In Ireland, almost 400,000 homes, farms or businesses were without power as a result of the storm. Some flights at Dublin Airport were canceled.
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Hundreds of thousands in Ireland and UK left without power as Storm Darragh batters the region
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Hundreds of thousands in Ireland and UK left without power as Storm Darragh batters the region
- Officials sent a rare emergency alert by phone to about 3 million households
- Major highways and bridges across the country were closed
Tornado kills five, injures more than 400 in Brazil
It killed five people and injured 432, the Parana state government said
Winds in Rio Bonito do Iguacu, population 14,000, reached between 180 and 250 kilometers per hour
BRASILIA: A tornado killed at least five people and injured more than 400 as it destroyed most of a town in southern Brazil, authorities said Saturday.
The twister on Friday overturned cars and damaged homes in Rio Bonito do Iguacu, in Parana state, the local weather service reported.
It killed five people and injured 432, the Parana state government said. Two others are missing but this number could rise, it said.
Winds in Rio Bonito do Iguacu, population 14,000, reached between 180 and 250 kilometers per hour (110 and 155 miles per hour), Parana’s environmental technology and monitoring agency said.
Civil Defense officials said 80 percent of the town is now destroyed. Images on social media show homes razed by the violent weather.
“It is a war scene,” Fernando Schunig, head of the Parana Civil Defense agency, told the news outlet G1.
He said the likelihood of more fatalities is high because the twister hit right in the center of the town.
“When these events hit an urban area, the damage is major. It is very lethal,” Schunig said.
The governor of Parana, Ratinho Junior, said on X that “security forces are on alert, mobilized and monitoring the cities affected by the severe storms.”
An alert for dangerous storms was in effect for all of Parana as well as the southern states of Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul, according to weather authorities.
Winds in Rio Bonito do Iguacu, population 14,000, reached between 180 and 250 kilometers per hour
BRASILIA: A tornado killed at least five people and injured more than 400 as it destroyed most of a town in southern Brazil, authorities said Saturday.
The twister on Friday overturned cars and damaged homes in Rio Bonito do Iguacu, in Parana state, the local weather service reported.
It killed five people and injured 432, the Parana state government said. Two others are missing but this number could rise, it said.
Winds in Rio Bonito do Iguacu, population 14,000, reached between 180 and 250 kilometers per hour (110 and 155 miles per hour), Parana’s environmental technology and monitoring agency said.
Civil Defense officials said 80 percent of the town is now destroyed. Images on social media show homes razed by the violent weather.
“It is a war scene,” Fernando Schunig, head of the Parana Civil Defense agency, told the news outlet G1.
He said the likelihood of more fatalities is high because the twister hit right in the center of the town.
“When these events hit an urban area, the damage is major. It is very lethal,” Schunig said.
The governor of Parana, Ratinho Junior, said on X that “security forces are on alert, mobilized and monitoring the cities affected by the severe storms.”
An alert for dangerous storms was in effect for all of Parana as well as the southern states of Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul, according to weather authorities.
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