Britain braced for storms as gales cause havoc
Pastor Dale Morgan
Britain braced for storms as gales cause havoc*
By Auslan Cramb, Scottish Correspondent
Last Updated: 3:47pm GMT 04/12/2006
# More gales to come as Britain gets a battering
Many parts of Britain were counting the cost of another night of gales
and heavy rain.
In Lancashire, one schoolgirl had a narrow escape when a 60ft tree fell
on to the roof of her house.
Naomi Bateson, 15, was asleep in bed when the laburnum was brought down
in Westhoughton, near Bolton.
The teenager and her family were evacuated by firefighters and given
temporary council accommodation after their house was declared unsafe.
Gusts of around 70mph were recorded in many areas, with south-west
England and Scotland taking the brunt of the bad weather.
Travellers by road and sea were hit by delays as emergency services
dealt with a stream of incidents, and several major routes were closed
by fallen trees.
Around 5,000 homes remained without power in Devon, and Caledonian
MacBrayne, the Scottish ferry operator, said the recent spell of stormy
weather on the west coast was “possibly the worst in the last 15-20 years.”
In Scotland, six severe flood warnings were issued, including two for
the River Tay in Perthshire, after several days of very heavy rain.
Loch Tay burst its banks at Kenmore, and the flood gates in Perth were
closed, with very high water levels predicted at around 6pm today.
Meanwhile, it was estimated that the cost of damage to yachts at one
Devon marine following the weekend gales could reach £1 million.
Winds gusting up to 100mph caused chaos at Queen Anne’s Battery in
Plymouth where boats that were out of the water fell against each other.
Forecasters predict a mild Monday night, with strong winds and more
heavy rain.