COPENHAGEN (AP) – Gale-force winds and floods struck several countries in northern Europe as the region braced for more heavy rain. In Scotland, one person was reported dead after being swept into a river and authorities searched for a man thought to be trapped in his vehicle.
The gale-force winds are expected to hit hardest in the eastern part of Denmark’s Jutland peninsula and the Danish islands in the Baltic Sea.
But the northern part of the British Isles, southern Sweden and Norway, and northern Germany are also on the path of the storm, named Babet by United Kingdom’s (UK) weather forecaster, the Met Office.
Eastern Scotland continued to bear the brunt of the stormy weather. Yesterday, the Met Office issued a new red warning for parts of eastern Scotland for further flooding.
A 57-year-old woman died on Thursday after being swept into a river in the region of Angus, where 400 homes were evacuated.
With the worst of the heavy rain in Scotland set to diminish over the coming hours, emergency services warned that rivers may still rise and breach flood defences. Some parts of the town of Brechin were only accessible by boat after its flood defenses were overwhelmed by the heavy rainfall, raising concerns about further loss of life. “I cannot stress how dangerous conditions are in Brechin in particular,” said Scotland’s first minister Humza Yousaf.
Wind gusts in excess of 60 metre per hour were reported yesterday.
Several major road sections and rail routes were closed in Scotland, while air passengers were facing flight cancellations.
