Add CategoryA WOMAN has been killed as Hurricane Ophelia battered Ireland and the British Isles as a post-tropical storm, bringing strong wings and the threat of a dangerous storm surge.
The BBC reported that the woman, believed to be in her 20s, had been driving in the storm in County Waterford, in the southeast region of Ireland, when part of a tree fell onto her car and crushed her.
A statement released by the Met Office warned of “flying debris” and urged locals to avoid going outside as wind gusts of up to 176km/hour could pose a “potential danger to life”.
Irish authorities have declared a state of emergency as the hurricane arrived from the Atlantic Ocean, with more than 120,000 people left without power.
Ireland has closed schools and hospitals. The armed forces have been dispatched to bolster flood defences in some areas as the weather service warned of flash flooding and damage to buildings.
Hurricane force winds are expected in every part of the country, the government warned.
Tropical-storm force winds may also be seen in Wales and the north and west of England, the US government’s National Hurricane Centre said.
The weather service issued a “status red” warning, saying “violent and destructive” wind is forecast nationwide, and “heavy rain and storm surges along some coasts will lead to flooding.” The chairman of Ireland’s National Emergency Coordination Group Sean Hogan told state broadcaster RTE: “Our concern is to avoid a situation where we have fatalities as a result of the extremely destructive and violent gusts that we are expecting.
“All non-essential activity should be deferred. Do not be out tomorrow in this storm.”
British media are comparing the storm to the Great Storm of 1987, which subjected parts of the United Kingdom to hurricane strength winds 30 years ago to the day.
Met Eireann, the Irish weather office, said that Ophelia will be the most intense weather event
since Hurricane Debbie in 1961, when 15 people were killed.
The centre of Ophelia, the sixth major hurricane of the Atlantic season before it was downgraded to a tropical storm overnight, was around 300 kilometres south of Ireland at 0500 GMT (4pm AEDT) on Monday, the Irish weather service said.
It was expected to make landfall at around 0900 GMT (8pm AEDT), it said. The government says the storm is likely to be the worst since Hurricane Debbie, which killed 12 in Ireland in 1961.