In the early hours of Saturday morning, Storm Darragh<\/strong> swept across the UK with a ferocity rarely seen, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake. With 93mph\u00a0winds<\/strong> uprooting trees, tearing apart historic landmarks, and plunging tens of thousands into darkness, the storm forced the nation to a standstill.<\/p>\n
The UK has been battered by Storm Darragh<\/strong>, one of the most severe storms in recent years, with winds reaching 93mph (149.67 km\/h)<\/b>. A rare red weather warning<\/strong>, signalling a \u201cdanger to life<\/a>\u201d<\/strong>, was issued for parts of southwest England and Wales, as the storm left a trail of destruction and claimed at least one life.<\/p>\n
The storm\u2019s fierce winds caused significant damage, particularly along coastal areas and in rural regions. In Llandudno<\/strong>, North Wales, a historic pier hut was blown away, while in Sidmouth<\/strong>, Devon, fallen trees blocked roads for hours, isolating homes and hindering emergency services.<\/p>\n
Around 86,000 homes<\/strong> were left without electricity at the peak of the storm, according to the National Grid<\/strong><\/a>. The most affected areas included:<\/p>\n
Efforts to restore power began immediately, but some regions are expected to face extended delays due to the scale of the damage.<\/p>\n
Transport networks<\/strong> were severely disrupted<\/strong>, with airports<\/strong>, railways<\/strong>, and roads<\/strong> all affected by Storm Darragh. Over 100 flights<\/strong> were cancelled, with Heathrow<\/strong> and Gatwick<\/strong> among the worst-hit airports. Several flights were diverted to Germany, including destinations like Frankfurt and D\u00fcsseldorf. Airlines advised passengers to check the status of their flights before travelling to the airport.<\/p>\n
Rail services were also disrupted, particularly along coastal lines, where debris on tracks caused significant delays. Meanwhile, motorists were urged to avoid unnecessary journeys as fallen trees and strong winds created hazardous conditions on the roads.<\/p>\n
\u201cTemporary restrictions on air traffic are in place to ensure passenger safety,\u201d<\/strong> an air traffic control spokesperson confirmed.<\/p>\n
Local and national authorities have mobilised resources to assist those impacted by the storm. Speaking from Cardiff, the First Minister of Wales, Eluned Morgan<\/strong>, expressed her support for those impacted, stating:
\n\u201cOur thoughts are with those who have suffered loss or damage to property. Efforts to restore power and clear blocked routes are ongoing.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n
Approximately 3 million people<\/strong> in the most severely affected areas received government alerts on their phones, advising them to stay indoors<\/strong> and avoid travel.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Storm Darragh<\/strong> has left the UK reeling, with winds of up to 93mph<\/strong>, a rare red alert and widespread chaos. With thousands of homes plunged into darkness and travel brought to a standstill, the impact of the storm has been devastating.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":10444,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,44],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10435","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-weather","category-news","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-33","no-featured-image-padding"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10435","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10435"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10435\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10444"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10435"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10435"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10435"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}