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LIVE: Storm Éowyn claims first victims as 118mph winds batter Britain

24 January 2025, 07:39 | Updated: 24 January 2025, 17:18

Winds of up to 118mph have been recorded as Storm Éowyn batters UK
Winds of up to 118mph have been recorded as Storm Éowyn batters UK. Picture: Alamy

By Katy Ronkin

Storm Eowyn has claimed its first victims as hurricane-force winds of over 100mph batter parts of the UK and Ireland.

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Rail services and flights have been axed, with Storm Eowyn likely to damage buildings, uproot trees and cause power cuts, the Met Office warned.

Winds of 108mph were recorded on the Galway coast at around 4am, while most areas are expected to experience closer to 80mph gusts.

Passengers and motorists in areas covered by red and amber weather warnings have been told to avoid travel "unless absolutely essential".

A 49-year-old man was killed by falling roof tiles in Glasgow, local media reported. Another man died in County Donegal, Ireland, after a tree fell on his car.

Follow our live blog for travel updates.

Thank you for following LBC coverage of Storm Eowyn

That concludes our live coverage of the storm.

You can continue read our reporting on LBC.co.uk or on Global Player.

Storm Eowyn to gradually clear during Saturday

Trees downed across the country

A man walks a dog past a police car in front of a fallen tree during Storm Eowyn in Helensburgh, Scotland.

Hospitality workers in Scotland told to stay away without pay

Katy Clark, Labour MSP for West Scotland, said: "Public safety must be paramount as we continue to face harsh weather conditions.

"The safety of workers has got to be a critical part of that.

"Alarmingly, I've discovered that there are workers, particularly in the hospitality sector, who are being told to stay away from work without pay.

"It's outrageous to dock the wages of employees who are being told not to come into work by their bosses.

"Given the pressures on incomes during the winter with rising fuel bills and other hardships, it's critical that the incomes of workers are protected.

"I'll be making representations to ministers about what support can be made available to businesses and their employees to support those affected.

"Meanwhile, the Scottish Government must join me in calling on employers not to dock the wages of employees who are unable to work through, no fault of their own, during the storms."

Overnight forecast

No injuries reported in Northern Ireland

No injuries have been reported in Northern Ireland in the aftermath of Storm Eowyn but it will take days to fully assess its impact, police said. 

 Assistant Chief Constable Davy Beck, who is in charge of the storm response operation, said on Friday evening "we are still not out of the potential risks in respect of this storm". 

 "I ask the public to consider this and question yourself around is your journey absolutely necessary until such times as the storm has totally passed." 

 He added: "Police have received in the region of 2,000 calls for service so far today, which is about 50% above what we would normally expect to receive on a normal Friday.  

"Many roads right across Northern Ireland do continue to be impassable, with fallen trees debris and power lines down." 

 He urged caution for those who do need to travel amid an amber and yellow snow and ice warning in place on Friday night. 

 "This was a really serious storm and I don't think we yet fully appreciate the impacts of this storm," he added. 

 "We're only now starting to see the number of calls start to rise in respect of impacts, concerns for safety, and indeed, more and more reports in respect of roads blocked and issues as a consequence of that. 

"So I think it's going to be a number of days before we can fully understand the full impacts of this storm, but certainly this was a severe storm."

Co-op building collapses in Denny, Falkirk

A Co-op has partially collapsed in Denny on Stirling Street in Falkirk. 

Picture: Madison McJimpsey

Storm Éowyn: What to expect this weekend

Amber wind warnings remain in place across Scotland

Storm Eowyn is an 'exceptional weather event', says John Swinney

Speaking following a meeting of the Scottish Government's Resilience Room, First Minister John Swinney said: "Storm Eowyn is an exceptional weather event and is causing significant impacts across Scotland, with multiple reports of fallen trees and blown over vehicles. 

 "What the Met Office predicted has come our way, with gusts of 100mph winds reported. 

 "I want to thank members of the public for largely following Police Scotland's advice not to travel. 

 "However, this storm is not over yet. Even once the red weather warning expires, severe weather warnings for wind, snow and ice remain in place across much of the country tonight and into tomorrow morning. A high level of vigilance is still required.  

"There are still too many lorries on the road and I urge all HGVs to follow Police Scotland advice not to travel during the red weather warning. 

 "We are also seeing reports of multiple power outages across Scotland and expect these to continue over the course of the day.  

"It will take time to recover power and transport services across the country, as conditions still remain too dangerous for recovery teams to operate."

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