Wind storm Eunice kills 3 people in UK
February 19, 2022, 3:56 am

Wind storm (File photo: Pixabay)

As storm Eunice is seen as one of the worst storms in three decades, it has brought record high wind to Britain Friday, killing three people while causing massive power cuts, flight cancellations and school closures across the country, the Xinhua reported.

Local media reported that a woman in her 30s in north London was killed when a tree fell onto her car, a man in his 20s died when his truck collided with a fallen tree in southern England, and a man in his 50s in northwestern England died due to flying debris.

Some 200,000 homes have been left without power in Britain as wind speed reached nearly 200 km per hour on the Isle of Wight, provisionally the highest one-off wind gust recorded in England, according to the Met Office.

The Met Office had earlier issued a rare red weather warning for Eunice. An amber warning, meaning there is a potential danger to life, remains in place in parts of England and Wales after the top level warning was lifted.

The British police and London Ambulance Service confirmed that several others had been taken to hospital after being hit by debris in separate incidents.

London's O2 Arena, which hosts concerts and sporting events, was closed Friday after the storm ripped off sections of fabric from its roof. Around 1,000 people were evacuated and a concert scheduled Friday night has been cancelled.

Hundreds of schools were closed in much of Wales and storm-affected areas of England, including in Cornwall, Devon, Somerset, Wiltshire, Hampshire, Dorset and Bristol.

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The storm has also brought widespread travel disruption. All train services in Wales have been suspended on Friday and more than 400 flights from or within Britain have been cancelled.

The Met Office said significant impacts from Storm Eunice would still be felt for the weekend across southern and central areas of Britain as the low-pressure system moved eastwards.

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The British government held an emergency meeting Thursday to discuss the response to the storm. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the army was "on standby" to support those affected.

Eunice is the second storm in a week to hit Britain after Storm Dudley battered parts of Scotland, northern England and Northern Ireland, leaving thousands of homes without power.

Source: xinhua

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BENEFIT, the Kingdom’s innovator and leading company in Fintech and electronic financial transactions service, has sponsored the BuildHer CityHack 2025 Hackathon, a two-day event spearheaded by the College of Engineering and Technology at the Royal University for Women (RUW).
Aimed at secondary school students, the event brought together a distinguished group of academic professionals and technology experts to mentor and inspire young participants.
More than 100 high school students from across the Kingdom of Bahrain took part in the hackathon, which featured an intensive programme of training workshops and hands-on sessions. These activities were tailored to enhance participants’ critical thinking, collaborative problem-solving, and team-building capabilities, while also encouraging the development of practical and sustainable solutions to contemporary challenges using modern technological tools.
BENEFIT’s Chief Executive Mr. Abdulwahed AlJanahi, commented: “Our support for this educational hackathon reflects our long-term strategic vision to nurture the talents of emerging national youth and empower the next generation of accomplished female leaders in technology. By fostering creativity and innovation, we aim to contribute meaningfully to Bahrain’s comprehensive development goals and align with the aspirations outlined in the Kingdom’s Vision 2030—an ambition in which BENEFIT plays a central role.”
Professor Riyadh Yousif Hamzah, President of the Royal University for Women, commented: “This initiative reflects our commitment to advancing women in STEM fields. We're cultivating a generation of creative, solution-driven female leaders who will drive national development. Our partnership with BENEFIT exemplifies the powerful synergy between academia and private sector in supporting educational innovation.”
Hanan Abdulla Hasan, Senior Manager, PR & Communication at BENEFIT, said: “We are honoured to collaborate with RUW in supporting this remarkable technology-focused event. It highlights our commitment to social responsibility, and our ongoing efforts to enhance the digital and innovation capabilities of young Bahraini women and foster their ability to harness technological tools in the service of a smarter, more sustainable future.”
For his part, Dr. Humam ElAgha, Acting Dean of the College of Engineering and Technology at the University, said: “BuildHer CityHack 2025 embodies our hands-on approach to education. By tackling real-world problems through creative thinking and sustainable solutions, we're preparing women to thrive in the knowledge economy – a cornerstone of the University's vision.”