Surviving Eunice

~ beetleypete

Today the British Isles have been hit by Storm Eunice. Supposedly the strongest winds seen in this country for thirty years, with gusts of up to 100mph in some areas.

In the Republic of Ireland, a man was killed by a falling tree as the storm swept in from the Atlantic.

1,800+ homes in Scotland are without power.

Schools that are not on half-term holiday have been closed in many regions, and people who can work from home have been advised to do so.

Major bridges are closed all over the UK, and rail services to and from the West Country area have been cancelled.

Many sea ferries and some coastal shipping have also been suspended, as only the largest lifeboats can be used in this weather.

The rare ‘Red Alert’ has been issued, and the residents of London have been advised not to leave their homes.

Trees are being ripped up by the winds, especially in Wales, which has been hit hard. Despite serious warnings, and some precautionary evacuations, there have been no reports of severe flooding so far.

Trampolines and garden furniture have been blown out of back gardens, fences flattened, and many parked cars wrecked by falling trees overnight. Government advice is not to drive on any roads anywhere in the country unless it is essential.

Here in Beetley, it is a case of so far, so good.

The force of the wind in the early hours has caused some power cuts locally, which we have not experienced so far. I cancelled a trip to the Vet in Swaffham to collect Ollie’s repeat presciption, as the journey involves a major road used by many large trucks. Being close to those in such windy conditions can be hazardous if they are blown over.

But Ollie has to go out, so I am just back from Beetley Meadows and Hoe Rough. A few of the smaller, thinner trees are down, though the large Oaks seem to be riding out the worst of it, despite losing lots of small branches and twigs. The river is at a normal level, so there will hopefully be no flooding locally.

Checking the weather news, I note that we are still due to get the worst of the winds after dark, until at least 9pm or later.

Wish me luck!

106 thoughts on “Surviving Eunice”

  1. It was also very bad for us on the coast. Ferries and trains stopped running. And school was canceled on Thursday so that the children would not be endangered.
    On the way to work I was happy about every tree I passed without an accident. A man died when a tree fell on his car. And one wanted to fix the roof of his house and fell down and died. This is only in my area.
    The second storm came at the weekend, luckily I didn’t have to leave the house anymore. 😉

    I hope you got through everything well.
    Best wishes, Irene

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  2. I hope you had managed it, the best way ever, Pete! I cant imagine so many storms, the last years. Maybe this not only depends on the climate change, but is also related to the volcanic eruptions of the recent past. However, its time to strenghen the property, and for me cutting down own eighty year old cherry-tree, in autumn this year. ;-/ Best wishes, Michael

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Yes, we were lucky. The storm that followed, named Franklin, was much worse here. Many trees down locally, and the main road into town closed by a fallen tree. I stayed at home of course, and luckily we didn’t lose power. (Though half the village did)
      Best wishes, Pete. x

      Like

      Reply

    1. We are okay, Michele. But the next storm, Storm Franklin, is still hitting us. Trees down everywhere, and the main road out of the village is blocked. Half the area has had no power for 2 days, but we are in the lucky half.
      Best wishes, Pete. x

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

    1. Thanks, WN. We got away with Storm Eunice, but Storm Franklin has been worse. Trees down all around the village, and one main road totally blocked nearby. Still raining here too.
      Best wishes, Pete.

      Like

      Reply

  24. Grant got a video from a friend of his in the Midlands and of course I have been reading other stories which sound pretty terrifying. If people in London are told to stay in, it must be bad. I remember when trees fell in Windsor Great Park years ago…was that 30 years ago? Seems longer but time tends to stretch and shrink all the time, I find. Thinking about everyone over there. Stay safe!!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  26. We’ve had power outages all afternoon. Went to Morrisons this morning and it wasn’t too bad at 07:30, but haven’t been out this afternoon. We lit our open fire this afternoon when the electricity went out.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. 90 minutes out with Ollie was enough for me today, Sue. But we have been lucky, so far. Especially considering some of the strongest gusts were recorded at RAF Marham, which is not that far away.
      Best wishes, Pete.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  33. As is often the case we got it first, early this morning, even the Velux windows were rattling with the thump of the gusts and we lost power for over 2 hours. Still very windy, but it often is here.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  34. Wow. Thanks for the heads up. Bit more than a blustery day in the 100-acre wood, that’s for certain Pete. Battening down the hatches and staying safe indoors is the right call. Wouldn’t want to be in a caravan down Clacton way or Swansea, am sure of that. Need to reach out to family in Folkstone to see who they are holding up.

    All the best,
    CT

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  37. Good luck! Up to now, the wind hasn’t been too bad here, but it’s strengthening now. I was in town for a semi-regular Friday coffee with a good friend today, and the walk from the parking area [free over winter] was dry, but going back, the rain was pretty strong, although it eased off as I approached the car; my feet did get wet, though, my own fault for wearing leaky shoes [long story]. Hunkering down for the rest of the day 😉 Cheers, Jon.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  38. The felting of our garden shed roof is now completely gone, my afternoon digital photography group has been cancelled and we stay inside. It has been tempting to go to the beach again, but I have just cleaned my lens from yesterday windy outing …

    Stay safe and warm, keep well!
    Best wishes from Cley with a big par for dear Ollie,
    Dina and the rest of the gang x x x x

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    1. Sorry about your shed, Dina. Our shed has a flat roof, covered in rubber. So far, it hasn’t shifted. But next door’s pitched roof felt-covered shed has also lost all its covering overnight.
      Love from Beetley, Pete and Ollie. X

      Like

      Reply

  39. We are under a flood warning here in Indiana. All the snow is melting plus we had rain and wind yesterday. I hate bad weather. hang tight and you will be fine.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

All comments welcome

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.