Sunday, February 20, 2022

The Great Storm Eunice in London, England


O2 Arena tent damage. Picture from Wikipedia.

 London had a great storm. Luckily flights were able to arrive from Europe to Heathrow when a member of my family flew from Paris to London. His main concern was whether trees would be blocking roads when the hire can took him from Heathrow to his home.

Fortunately, no major trees had blown down. However, when he got home, he discovered that a tree had blown down in the back garden. (Americans say back yard.) 

Fallen tree in London, England. Sharot family photo.

He was on the phone to me discussing it. He said, "There's no chance of getting a tree surgeon to cut it up. They are all out already fully booked. Other, bigger trees are the priority. Especially the ones on major roads.

"I supposed I could hire a tree-cutting saw from a hire shop."

I was not keen on that idea. A DIY accident waiting to happen. Leave roof work and sawing to the experts. They have experience. And assistants. And insurance. And probably first aid kits in their van."

I didn't want to get into an argument about something which would probably not happen - the hiring, rather than the accident. I said, "The tree-cutting machines will also already be out."

The tree had already been dead some time. It was a pushover. Literally.  

We were lucky the house was not damaged by Storm Eunice. Another family in Brentwood had an old oak tree destroy their house and car. 

Public buildings damaged included the O2.

The weather in London is cold.

By contrast, the weather in Singapore is hot and humid.  A huge thunderstorm all day, like London. This prevented us from swimming in the outdoor swimming pool under the palm trees, whose topknots were blowing in the wind.


Useful Websites

UK News

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/home-destroyed-brentwood-essex-oak-tree-b983457.html

Reports of trains stopped in Wales, cancelled flights and more>

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/man-killed-county-wexford-storm-eunice-b983348

UK Weather

https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/

UK and Europe Damage

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Storm_Eunice

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