Tens of thousands were still without power and travel continued to be disrupted on Saturday as the cleanup effort after record-breaking deadly Storm Eunice threatened to be hampered by more weather warnings.
Friday’s storm brought record-breaking winds to the UK and Ireland, and killed at least four, leaving a trail of damage and destruction in its wake.
On Saturday, there were still thousands without power. The Energy Networks Association said that although around 1.2 million people had been reconnected, about 195,000 customers still remained without power in the south, Wales and the east.
Kwasi Kwarteng, the business and energy secretary, said 8,000 field staff and engineers were “working day and night to restore power”.
He tweeted: “We expect most customers to have supplies restored promptly. Strong winds across southern England are impacting restoration efforts.”
He added: “I would like to thank our emergency services and engineers who are working tirelessly.”
Millions were advised to remain at home on Friday amid safety fears over one of the worst storms to hit the UK in a generation and transport issues meant many could not travel.
On Saturday morning, National Rail said that routes across most of the UK remained affected and that disruption was expected to continue for the rest of the day.
Southern, Thameslink and Great Northern rail networks issued “do not travel” notices, warning that “many parts of our network have no service”. They said the situation was changing regularly as trees and objects have been blown on to the line and that they are working to reopen as many routes as possible.
South Western Railway also expected significant disruption and Great Western Railway and Greater Anglia suspended services until about 10am.
Friday’s winds, which reached a high of 122mph, a record for England, created havoc on roads from flying debris and falling trees, killing four people.
A woman in her 30s was killed after a tree fell on a car in Haringey, north London, a man in his 50s was killed in Netherton, Merseyside after debris hit his windscreen, a man in his 20s died in Alton, Hampshire, in a collision with a tree and a man in Co Wexford, Ireland, was killed by a falling tree. There were also reports of people suffering serious injuries after being hit by debris in Henley-on-Thames and south London.
It caused damage to homes and buildings across the country, including London’s O2 Arena, which had part of its roof ripped off, and the spire of St Thomas Church in Wells, Somerset.
But as clean-up efforts were due to commence on Saturday, the Met Office warned that further rain and winds could “slow down and hamper clear up operations”.
Saturday saw heavy snow in parts of Yorkshire, strong winds on the south coast and forecasters warned that Sunday could bring gales of up to 70mph to some parts of England.
Craig Snell, a Met Office forecaster, said that although Eunice had moved on to central Europe, the arrival of a new weather system was likely to bring spells of heavy rain and less severe but potentially problematic winds that “will make things a little bit more difficult”.
A yellow warning for wind was issued for England and Wales on Sunday from midday until 3pm, and in Northern Ireland and north-west England until midnight. The same warnings have also been issued for Monday.
Cumbria, Lancashire and West Yorkshire were issued a yellow warning for rain from midnight until 6pm on Sunday.
On Saturday there were three flood warnings in place – in Bosham and West Itchenor and Climping in West Sussex, and Shrewsbury in Shropshire.
On the roads, the M4 Prince of Wales bridge was open on Saturday, but the M48 River Severn Bridge remained closed “due to forecasts of further high winds”.
Meanwhile, the Association of British Insurers warned that although it was too early to estimate the cost of the damage caused by Eunice, previous storms have led to insurers paying out more than £360m.
London fire brigade said it took 1,958 calls on Friday as Eunice hit the capital – three times more than on Thursday. The fire service warned on Saturday that although the worst was over, “its effect may extend into the coming days”. They urged people to be wary of “the potential for loose structures or falling debris”.
