So, what's new? No, being serious, this is not about my daughter Amy causing chaos at home (apparently that was me!).
It's about Storm Amy which arrived a few days ago from the Atlantic Ocean hitting Ireland first and then parts of Scotland, North West England and Wales, and moving further east to affect France and the Netherlands and Scandinavia. That was this weekend just gone.
Storm Amy [The Weather Network]
What happened?
With winds approaching 100 mph (140 kph) hundreds of trees have been blown down, taking power lines with them. Heavy and persistent rain has caused widespread flooding.
Authorities in Ireland reported a man died in north west Ireland in a weather-related incident, while in France, at least two people were reportedly killed by the storm, local officials said.
Satellite image of Storm Amy [BBC]
Weather conditions began to slightly improve across northern Europe on Sunday after the storm impacted critical infrastructure and disrupted power for tens of thousands of people.
In the Netherlands Amy led to the cancellation of hundreds of flights and ferry services.
In Scotland, authorities restored power to some 67,000 homes two days after the storm brought damage and disruption.
Restoring power [Photo: BBC]
Road, rail, and sea travel faced major disruption as the storm walloped the UK and Scandinavia on Saturday with heavy rain and high winds.
London’s Royal Parks shut their gates as Britain’s Met Office gave updates on the weather after it recorded a gust of 154 kph on Friday on the island of Tiree off Scotland’s west coast.
More than 200,000 homes in Ireland and Northern Ireland had been left without power, while in Scotland, many ferry services were suspended, and roads and railway lines were blocked by fallen trees.
[Photo: The Mirror]
France
On Saturday afternoon, Storm Amy's powerful gusts, which claimed two lives in France, prompted parts of Northern France to issue an orange alert.
"Storm Amy is moving across the British Isles, causing strong gusts of wind in the departments near the English Channel coast and in the northern inland departments of the country," French weather service Meteo France said.
France's northern coast recorded its strongest winds since the beginning of the week, with gusts reaching 131 kilometres and up to 110 kph inland.
[Photo: The Guardian]
Up to 5,000 Normandy homes were without power on Saturday morning due to the storm. According to power supplier Enedis, the number decreased to 2,000 by noon, but since then, more outages have been reported.
Belgium
In Belgium, Storm Amy was also clearly felt, causing some damage with strong winds of speeds reaching over 100 kilometres per hour. As a result, authorities declared a Code Orange weather warning for the entire country on Friday.
As a precaution, the breakwaters in Ostend were closed for the entire weekend, and telephone number 1722 for non-urgent requests for assistance from the fire brigade had been activated.
Scandinavia
People struggled against the wind and rain in Malmö, Sweden [Johan Nilsson/TT]
Storm Amy also wreaked havoc on Sweden, Denmark, and Norway from late Friday into Saturday. Tens of thousands of homes lost power as strong gusts brought down trees and power lines throughout Scandinavia, as heavy rainfall and high tides pummeled the coastal areas.
Norway
Roofs were blown off houses, trees fell, and over a hundred roads were closed in Norway, where rainfall was extremely heavy.
Sweden
Strong winds and heavy rain were recorded on Saturday across southern and central Sweden. The Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI) issued orange alerts for the West Coast, the southern coast of Skåne, and the Skagerrak area.
[Photo: Sky News]
Out at sea off northern Halland, hurricane-force gusts were recorded. In addition, several yellow warnings were put in place for large parts of the country.
Why Storm Amy?
Storms with the potential to cause serious disruption or damage are given names jointly by the UK, Irish, and Dutch weather agencies.
The current storm, called Amy, is the remnant of Hurricane Humberto, which formed over the Atlantic Ocean last week.
Amy Whitelock Gibbs
Returning to my daughter Amy, she graduated from Oxford University with a First Class Honours degree in English and German. She then gained a MSc in European Public Policy from UCL, did placements at the European Parliament in Brussels and at the House of Commons, London.
Amy was a Labour Councillor in Tower Hamlets, London, for eight years whilst pursuing a career in the charity sector. She has worked for MIND, Amnesty International and Birthrights, where she was CEO. Amy is currently CEO of Tutors United, an educational charity, and Chair of the Children and Young People's Mental Health Coalition.
She is the mother of two boys, aged eight and five and lives in Stratford, East London, overlooking the 2012 Olympic Village.
"Storm Amy" [Photo: Tutors United]
© Pablo de Ronda (aka Paul Whitelock)
Sources:
BBC, Daily Mail, euroNews, Mirror Group, SKY News
Pictures:
BBC, Johan Nilsson, The Guardian, The Mirror, The Weather Network, TT, Tutors United
Links:
(10) Amy Whitelock Gibbs | LinkedIn
Death in the afternoon… and in the morning - a personal memoire - Eye on Spain
Journey to the East - Help me, Ronda
Tutors United - Enabling every child to succeed.
Tags:
Amy Whitelock Gibbs, BBC, Children and Young People's Mental Health Coalition, Daily Mail, Death in the afternoon ..... and in the morning, euroNews, Eye on Spain, Johann Nilsson, Journey to the East, LinkedIn, Mirror, Pablo de Ronda, Paul Whitelock, SKY News, The Guardian, The Mirror, The Weather Network, Tutors United, TT, www.help-me-ronda.com