Storm Austen batters Britain: West Pier collapses as 31,000 homes lose power

Storm Austen, the first named storm of the season, battered Britain on Friday with 80mph gusts (The Times).

National Grid said more than 31,000 homes were without power in the South West as of 3pm, while engineers had restored supply to more than 52,000. Nearly 18,000 homes and businesses were cut off across England and Wales, and a 76mph gust was recorded at St Mary’s Airport on the Isles of Scilly (Leigh Journal, The Sun).

Part of Brighton’s derelict West Pier collapsed into the sea as huge waves pounded the coast. The Grade I-listed pier has been closed since 1975 and was gutted by two arson attacks in 2003. “Storm Austen has caused more of Brighton’s West Pier to collapse into the sea. Ever since the two devastating arson attacks in 2003, the West Pier has been whittled away by nature,” said Professor Fred Grey of the West Pier Trust (Leigh Journal).

Dozens of Cornwall schools closed or opened late, council crews dealt with 250 highway incidents, and Haven shut two Cornish holiday parks. Southampton Airport cancelled most morning flights, Aurigny cancelled all its services, and a train struck a tree near Bournemouth (The Times, The Sun).

Prime Minister Andy Burnham warned at a civil-preparedness summit that Britain could face “a winter of greater flooding” and urged households to stock essentials. The Met Office issued amber wind warnings for Storm Boelo from 9pm Saturday to 9pm Sunday for Scotland, Northumberland, Cumbria and Northern Ireland, with gusts of 60–70mph and up to 80mph on exposed coasts (The Times, Cotality).