London Fire Brigade has declared a major incident over Storm Eunice amid a flurry of 999 calls.
It comes after the roof of the O2 in Greenwich, London, was torn off by gale-force winds.
The storm has caused 'chaos' across the capital, London Fire Brigade said.
The service's control room received 550 calls in less than three hours today, placing firefighters under extreme pressure.
Crews are now prioritising incidents which involve a 'risk to life'.
A spokesman for the LFB said: "London Fire Brigade has declared a major incident in response to the volume of 999 calls being taken about Storm Eunice-related incidents.
"London’s firefighters and control officers are having an exceptionally busy day as the storm causes chaos across London, the South East and the South West of the county with winds of up to 100mph recorded in some areas.
"Control staff have introduced batch mobilisation to certain incidents, which means calls where there is a risk to life are prioritised and crews then attend other calls as non-emergencies when they can."
Some of the more serious incidents that firefighters have responded to today include an overturned van on the M11, a balcony collapse in central London and a container in a precarious position on top of a high-rise building in the Isle of Dogs.
The Brigade has also received some 'unhelpful calls', including from one Londoner who rang them over a tent blowing into their neighbour's garden.
Another report was from a caller concerned about a trampoline blowing around in the garden next door.
The LFB spokesman added: "The Brigade’s Control Room took 550 calls between 1030 and 1300 – which is more than the average number usually taken in a 24-hour period.
"The high volume of calls has also prompted the Brigade to reiterate its advice for people to only call 999 if there is an emergency or if there’s an immediate risk to life."
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The Brigade said it would not respond to incidents where there was no risk to life.
The spokesman added that if a tree has been downed, people should ring the council and not the fire brigade.
It comes as gusts of 122mph were recorded on the Isle of Wight this morning - the highest gust ever logged in England.
Dr Simon Lee, an atmospheric scientist, shared a photo of a satellite image of the storm on Twitter which he said "gave me chills".
"Storm Eunice is exploding in intensity west of Britain and Ireland," he wrote.
"I hope everyone has made the necessary preparations and stays safe."
The Met Office had already issued two rare red warnings, only the 11th time this highest level has been implemented by the national weather agency.
A man in his 60s was killed while he was clearing debris caused by the wrath of Storm Eunice in Co Wexford, Ireland, earlier this morning.
It is understood he was working with a colleague cleaning up tree debris when the tragedy struck, Irish Mirror reports.
