Power outages reach 150,000 homes after twin storms sweep through Europe

Resident power outages affected more than 150,000 households across three countries following a series of severe weather events. Authorities reported that over 82,000 homes in the United Kingdom, nearly 60,000 in France, and at least 10,000 in Germany remained without electricity on Sunday. The blackouts occurred after storms named Boelo and Austen traversed the region within a 24-hour period.

The weather claimed one life in southwestern Scotland, where a 60-year-old man died after a tree fell on him. The Press Association reported that two women in central Scotland were injured by another falling tree. Wind speeds reached 135 kilometers per hour in the Argyll and Bute area of western Scotland. The strong gusts downed trees and power lines, blocking road and rail routes across Scotland and northern England.

The United Kingdom's Met Office issued a warning that Boelo posed a danger to life due to flying debris and crashing waves. The agency advised the public to remain indoors as much as possible. In Brighton, on the southern coast of England, the force of Austen removed an unused pier from the shore on Friday. Officials in both Scotland and England cited an increased risk of flooding in various regions.

In France, energy provider Enedis stated that 288,000 homes lost power at the peak of Austen on Saturday. By midday Sunday, 59,000 properties were still dark, primarily in Normandy and Brittany. A marathon runner in northern France sustained minor injuries when a tree fell on them during a race. The storm also impacted Germany, where 10,000 homes in and around Freiburg-Breisgau experienced outages on Sunday.

The main hospital in Freiburg-Breisgau restricted services to emergency cases due to the power failure, which also interrupted local mobile phone networks. German police reported that two individuals were seriously injured on Saturday when scaffolding was blown away at a market in Nastatten. In the Netherlands, coastguard officials said three crew members on a freight ship north of Schiermonnikoog were injured during the storm. Two of the crew were transported by helicopter to a mainland hospital.

The storms caused hundreds of flights to be cancelled or diverted across northern Europe, including operations at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport. In Brussels, four people were injured by falling trees on Saturday. Experts have linked these extreme weather patterns to climate change, noting the frequency of such events is increasing.