Two men have died after falling trees struck a car and a pedestrian as Storm Boelo continued to batter the United Kingdom with powerful winds and heavy rainfall.
A man in his 20s was pronounced dead at the scene in north London on Sunday after a tree fell onto the car he was driving. The incident happened on Dollis Road in Finchley at around 12:40 GMT, prompting emergency services to respond.
The Metropolitan Police said officers were called after reports that a tree had fallen onto a moving vehicle. Chief Inspector Guy Ellwood, from the North West Command Unit, described the incident as deeply tragic and expressed condolences to the young man’s family and loved ones.
London Ambulance Service dispatched incident response officers, paramedics from its hazardous area response team and a trauma team from London’s Air Ambulance.
Earlier, a 60-year-old man died in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, after being struck by a falling tree near Castle Douglas, according to Police Scotland.
The storm has also caused widespread power outages, transport disruption, flooding and damage to buildings and roads across the country.
The Energy Networks Association reported that approximately 161,400 properties remained without electricity as of 15:00 GMT on Sunday. Engineers faced delays in restoring supplies because dangerous weather conditions were limiting their ability to carry out repairs safely.
Across Storm Boelo and the earlier Storm Austen, which struck the UK on Friday, an estimated 838,700 properties had experienced power cuts, according to the association.
Powerful winds continued to sweep across the country, with gusts reaching 85 miles per hour in Machrihanish, Argyll and Bute, on Sunday morning. Stornoway in the Outer Hebrides and Capel Curig in north Wales recorded gusts of 84mph.
The Met Office had issued an amber wind warning covering Scotland and parts of northern England until 21:00 GMT on Sunday. A yellow warning covering other areas, including Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, parts of the East and West Midlands, and north Wales, also expired at 21:00.
Officials urged residents to remain indoors as much as possible and warned those going outside to avoid walking or taking shelter near trees and buildings.
Four flood warnings were issued for parts of England and Wales, while Scotland had 17 flood warnings in place. Heavy rainfall was recorded in the Scottish Highlands, with Cluanie Inn receiving 130mm.
In Aberfeldy, Perth and Kinross, two women were taken to hospital after being struck by a fallen tree at around 12:50 GMT, police said.
Communities along Scotland’s Clyde coast were among the hardest hit. The main road between Skelmorlie and Largs suffered significant damage, while several businesses in Largs were flooded overnight on Saturday.
In Gourock, a boat was left on the side of the road, while reports from Girvan indicated that some residents had been without electricity throughout Sunday.
Dumbarton also suffered flooding. Muhammad Zubair Ashraf, who owns a mobile phone shop in the town on the north bank of the River Clyde, estimated that the damage to his business was between £5,000 and £10,000. He said he was heartbroken by the extent of the losses.
The severe weather has disrupted travel across the UK. Police in Scotland advised people to avoid unnecessary road journeys, while ferry services were affected and some flights to and from Belfast, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Dublin airports were cancelled. Train services across the country also experienced disruption.
Scottish government ministers and officials met on Sunday afternoon to assess the storm’s impact. The government warned that although conditions could ease later in the day, further adverse weather remained possible in the coming days.
