LONDON (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Cleanup after Storm Eunice might cost over £350 million, according to estimates, as thousands of people are still affected by one of the worst weather systems in decades.
Hundreds of thousands of houses are still without power as a result of the hurricane, and early indications are that the cost of getting back to normal will be higher than in prior storms.
About four persons were killed in Ireland and the UK, with the tentatively recorded speed of wind at 122 mph at The Needles on the Isle of Wight, which, if confirmed, would be the highest ever recorded in England.
The most recent power
The Energy Networks Association reported on Saturday that roughly 226,000 consumers were still without power, while 1.2 million had been reconnected.
In the south of England about 60,000 customers are still without power, with 55,000 in the south west, 58,000 in the south east,15,000 in South Wales, and 35,000 in eastern England, according to the report.
Costs are increasing
Planes struggled to land in severe gusts during the storm, the top of London’s O2 Arena was damaged, and the spire of St Thomas Church in Wells, Somerset, fell to the ground.
Similar storms have previously cost roughly £360 million in repairs, according to the Association of British Insurers.
Certainly no two storms are the same, the last two major ones to hit the UK – Dennis and Ciara – resulted in insurers “paying out more than £360 million,” according to a representative.
A yellow wind warning has been issued by the Met office that will last until 6 p.m. on Saturday for the entire southwest Wales and southern coast.
A yellow wind warning is in effect for England, southwest Scotland and Wales on Sunday, while a yellow rain warning is in effect for Cumbria and Lancashire.
Eunice, according to meteorologist Greg Dewhurst, was one of the worst storms in decades.
“The 122mph figure was a new provisional record for wind gusts in England,” he claimed.
“But it’s also about the extent of the destruction, so we’ll see if this storm was worse than the Burns Night storm (in 1990) or the one in 1987, when gusts were about 80 to 90 mph – but the damage was more extensive.”
