Storms batter Europe hitting power supplies, flights and phones

On Sunday, powerful storms swept through northern Europe, causing widespread damage and disruption. In Liverpool, people were seen struggling to hold onto their umbrellas against strong winds, as captured in an EPA Images photo. A man in southwestern Scotland tragically died when a tree fell on him during the storm. The storms, known as Boelo and Austen, left over 150,000 homes without power across Britain, injured a runner in a marathon in northern France, and blocked roads and rail lines in Scotland and northern England due to downed trees and power cables.

The Argyll and Bute region of western Scotland experienced winds up to 135km per hour, with trees and power lines brought down by the storm. Power cuts affected more than 82,000 homes in Britain, nearly 60,000 in France, and at least 10,000 in Germany. In Scotland, over 400,000 homes lost power at some stage during the storms. In France, 288,000 homes lost electricity at the peak of storm Austen, with 2,600 technicians working to restore power.

In Germany, the town of Freiburg-Brisgau experienced a blackout that cut the mobile phone network, leaving two people seriously injured.

The storms also impacted infrastructure, with part of a pier at Brighton, unused since a 2003 fire, being blown away in Storm Austen. Europe faced its first major autumn storms of the year, with experts warning of more extreme weather events due to global warming. Authorities in Scotland and England issued flood warnings. In Lille, northern France, a runner sustained a minor injury during the city's first marathon in 31 years.

In Germany, Austen caused power cuts to 10,000 homes in and around Freiburg-Brisgau, forcing the town's main hospital to limit services to emergency cases only. Dozens of flights were cancelled or diverted across northern Europe, with Amsterdam's Schiphol airport, a major European hub, canceling dozens of flights on Sunday, primarily to destinations like Paris, Rome, and Dublin.