'Kyrill' () is the name given to a
low pressure area that evolved into an unusually violent
European windstorm, forming an
extratropical cyclone with
hurricane-strength winds. It formed over
Newfoundland on
15 January,
2007 and moved across the
Atlantic Ocean reaching
Ireland and
Great Britain by the evening of
17 January. The storm then crossed the
North Sea on 17 and
18 January, making landfall on the
German and
Dutch coasts on the afternoon of
18 January, before moving eastwards toward
Poland and the
Baltic Sea on the night from
January 18 to
January 19 and further on to northern
Russia.
Kyrill caused widespread damage across Western Europe, especially in the
United Kingdom and
Germany. 47 fatalities have been reported as of
January 19 as well as extensive disruptions of public transport, power outages to over one hundred thousand homes, severe damages to public and private buildings and major forest damage through
windthrow.
The storm was named "Kyrill" on
January 17,
2007 by the
Free University of Berlin's meteoreological institute.
[5] The storm was named after a
Bulgarian man living near Berlin, whose family donated to the university's "Adopt-A-Vortex"
[6] programme.
[7]
Abstract
A
European windstorm is a severe
cyclonic storm that moves across the
North Atlantic towards northwestern
Europe in the winter months. These storms usually move over the north coast of the
United Kingdom, towards
Norway but can veer south to affect other countries including
Ireland,
France,
Belgium,
the Netherlands,
Denmark,
Sweden,
Austria,
Germany,
Czech Republic,
Slovakia,
Switzerland, and
Poland. As these storms can generate hurricane-force winds (and sometimes even winds at the strength of major hurricanes), they are sometimes referred to as
hurricanes, even though few originate as
tropical cyclones.
These storms rank as the second highest cause of global
natural catastrophe insurance loss (after U.S. hurricanes).
Kyrill was unusual in that its field of hurricane-force winds was very broad, affecting large areas of Germany as well as neighbouring countries at one time. Kyrill brought wind gusts of up to 130 km/h (80 mph) even in the North German plains. German weather experts have described the storm as a "once in a decade" event.
The last storm to affect Germany on a similar scale was
Lothar, which hit in 1999.
Events
After making landfall in Ireland and the UK in the late hours of
January 17, the storm swept across
Ireland and
Great Britain on the night of 17 to 18 January, with winds of 160 km/h (99 mph) at
The Needles, 149 km/h (93 mph) recorded in
Dublin, 130 km/h (81 mph) recorded at
Aberdaron on the
Llyn peninsula, 122 km/h (76 mph) at
Mumbles near
Swansea and winds of 101 km/h (63 mph) at
St Athan in the
Vale of Glamorgan.
The
German Meteorological Service had advised people to stay indoors and avoid unnecessary trips on 18 January,
[8] and wind strengths of up to 12 on the
Beaufort scale were seen across the Netherlands and Germany as the storm made landfall. The storm moved across the German states of
Lower Saxony,
Bremen,
Hamburg,
Schleswig-Holstein and
North Rhine-Westphalia first, then spread across the whole country in the evening hours of
January 18. Wind gusts as high as 202 km/h (125 mph) on the
Wendelstein and 198 km/h (123 mph) on the
Brocken in the
Harz mountains were recorded.
[9] The storm then moved eastwards, its center crossing Lower Saxony between 18:00 and 19:00 CET, moving toward the
Baltic sea, its cold front spawning several
tornadoes in Germany, three of which have been confirmed as of February 22.
[10] In Poland the highest wind speed was measured on
Śnieżka in the
Karkonosze mountains, where wind gusts reached 212 km/h (132 mph).
[11] In the
Czech Republic winds as high as 200 km/h disrupted both rail and air traffic; record high temperatures reached 14 °C (57 °F) in
Prague.
[12]
Effects of the storm
Felled power pylons caused massive electricity outages
On the day of the landfall, an approximate 25,000 homes in southern England were without electricity after electricity
pylons were damaged by the storm.
[13] Same day, the German states of
Brandenburg,
Saxony and
Saxony-Anhalt were hit by a massive power cut. 52,000 homes were without energy, according to local utility ''envia''.
[14] The German district
Siegen-Wittgenstein had issued a
state of emergency, with schools remaining closed on Friday,
January 19, and roads not to be cleared right away, but closed instead until the situation improved.
[15] By the second day of the storm, more than one million homes were left without power in the
Czech republic with another million households without electricity in Germany and tens of thousands dark homes in
Austria and
Poland.
[16][17]
In Poland, a flood alarm was issued in several localities due to large rainfalls and the storm damaged several houses in the region of
Jelenia Góra.
[18] In
Ukraine, the supply of oil through the
Druzhba pipeline came to a complete halt as a result of the storm.
[19]
Strong winds over the Alps became
föhn and caused unseasonally high temperatures in Italy (up to 25 °C/77 °F in
Turin).
[20]
In
Ireland thousands of homes were left without power and heavy downpours caused flash flooding.
In the Netherlands, the storm flood warning system (''Stormvloedwaarschuwingsdienst'') was activated, as the approaching storm was measured in excess of 10
Beaufort. Alarms were issued to two northern regions,
Delfzijl &
Harlingen, at approximately 22:30 CET on Thursday
18 January. The water level peaked in the early hours of Friday, almost 4.5 m above the astronomical prediction level, and an ''en masse'' evacuation of the two cities was narrowly avoided.
High winds in the
Alps prompted the
Austrian weather service to advise the skiers and snowboarders to seek shelter, and caused at least one major motorway tunnel closure.
[21]
The cost of the damage across Europe to the insurance industry has been estimated by Swiss Re as €3.5bn.
[22] In the UK, the cost to the insurance industry could be as high as £350m (€520m).
[23] As the event is relatively recent for the insurance industry these are unlikely to be the final costs.
Notable buildings
Several windows were smashed into at the
Römisch-Germanisches Museum in
Cologne,
Germany by plywood that was covering a
fountain near
Cologne Cathedral. The wood caused major damage to the encasing of a
Roman mosaic dating to the 3rd century. The Römisch-Germanisches Museum building was originally constructed around the mosaic.
As of January 2007, it is still unclear whether the actual mosaic has suffered damage, as museum staff have announced the cleanup will at least take a week due to the fragility of the exhibit.
[24] Museum manager Bernhard Ostermann estimated that the mosaic was damaged in 100 to 150 places
[25]
The chapel of
Wittenberg Castle in
Wittenberg,
Germany, which is a
World Heritage Site, lost several of its
sandstone merlons. They broke off during the storm, damaging several stained-glass windows in their fall.
Harbours and shipping
The
container ship ''
MSC Napoli'', whilst on its way to
Portugal carrying 2,394 containers, of which 158 were classed as hazardous substances, had to be abandoned in the
English Channel due to the storm. The crew of 26 were picked up by British and French
rescue services. The ship was later pulled to shelter in
Lyme Bay and was being towed to
Portland Harbour in
Dorset. The ship is reported to have suffered structural damage, including a 1 m by 0.5 m (3 ft by 1 ft 6 in) hole on the
starboard side and water flooding and has been beached 1 mile off the
East Devon coast at
Branscombe[26] An anti-pollution operation started on
January 21 after the ship leaked up to 200 tonnes of oil. Some 200 containers have also been reported missing, among them one that contains battery acid and several others with dangerous goods of various kind.
[27]
The
ferry services between
Fishguard and
Rosslare were cancelled,
[28] as well as the ferries to
Heligoland and most
West Frisian Islands,
East Frisian and
North Frisian islands.
[29]
In Ireland,
Dublin Port was forced to completely close for a time. Two fishing vessels sank at sea, with a total loss of seven lives. A third vessel engaged in the rescue attempts also sank but the crew were rescued.
[30] A
storm tide with sea levels of up to 3.5 metres (11.5 ft) above mean
tide was announced for the coastal areas of
Lower Saxony and
Schleswig-Holstein by the state governments,
[31] however the storm had already passed those areas before
high tide had set in, so there was less damage than expected.
The
Cypriot-flagged freighter ''Golden Sky'', carrying a load of fertilizer and fuel oil, ran aground near
Ventspils, off the coast of
Latvia; the ship's crew were rescued in a joint Latvian and Swedish operation.
[32][33]
Road transport
Many countries suffered from road and
motorway closures. In the United Kingdom, the major motorways
M1,
M6 and
M18 were closed in several places, as well as the
M25 ring road around London and a number of other motorways. Bridges including the M6
Thelwall Viaduct and the M25
Dartford Crossing were closed due to high winds. Closures were largely due to the toppling of multiple high-sided vehicles. Other motorways were affected by significant delays. Long queues developed around blackspots, in particular replacement crossings of the
Manchester Ship Canal including routes through
Warrington and over the
Runcorn Bridge.
[34]
In Germany, a number of motorways, especially those with bridges over the
Rhine or those with
valley bridges, also faced closures due to high winds.
The Dutch police advised drivers of empty
lorries not to enter the Netherlands. Many roads were also closed in Ireland due to fallen trees and overturned lorries.
Air transport
More than 280 flights were cancelled at
Heathrow airport, and 80 more flights were cancelled due to health and safety reasons at
Manchester Airport.
[35] Many flights were delayed at
Ireland's airports on the morning of
19 January due to the high winds in Ireland, however by afternoon they were delayed because of high winds elsewhere in Europe.
Several flights at
Frankfurt International Airport were cancelled due to the bad weather.
[36]
Overall, during January 18 and 19
Swiss International Air Lines announced the cancellation of at least 88 flights,
British Airways canceled 180 flights and
Lufthansa cut 329 flights and warned of more delays before the service began to return back to normal.
[37]
Railways
The storm seriously affected the
January 17 rush hour all over Great Britain, with heavy snowfalls in
Scotland adding to the unpleasant situation. A general 50 mph speed restriction was put in place by
Network Rail to minimise possible damages. Train services between
Cardiff and
London Paddington had to be cancelled, and the
East Coast Mainline was operating on a reduced timetable.
Virgin Trains cancelled its services from London to Scotland, whilst
First Great Western closed the line between Paddington and
Reading, Berkshire, running a replacement
bus service.
London Bridge railway station was closed after glass panels came loose from the roof.
[38]
In the Netherlands, all train services ceased operating on the evening of
January 18. The station in
Delft and the
central station in Amsterdam were evacuated due to roof damages.
[39] A train driver sustained minor injuries when his train hit a tree that had fallen onto the railway near
Venlo.
German railway operator
Deutsche Bahn at first limited the maximum speed of its trains to 200 km/h (124 mph),
[40] then all services on the domestic
InterCity/
InterCityExpress network as well as the local services in Northern and Western Germany were discontinued from 17:15 CET on
18 January onwards, as major main lines (Bremen-Hannover, Hamburg-Hanover, Bremen-Osnabrück) and many branch lines were affected by the storm. In an unprecedented move, Deutsche Bahn discontinued virtually all train services in Germany at 19:30 CET until further notice, with only very limited local services running on a per-line decision basis. Trains currently on the lines would stop at the next station and stay there, leaving passengers stranded all over Germany in the tens of thousands. Later, as the situation was worsening, trains were left open for those passengers unable to find a hotel to sleep in. In major affected stations, such as
Münster and
Hanover,
air raid shelters in the stations were opened up for the night, with the
Red Cross issuing blankets to stranded passengers.
[41] Train services were resumed on the morning of
January 19, but cancellations and delays continued during the weekend as 34,000 kilometres (21,100 mi) of track needed to be checked and cleared. The DB was faced by the massive challenge of getting its network into working order again after coming to a full stop during the night, the first such event ever to happen on the German railway network in peacetime.
[42]On January 18, an
InterCity train ran into a tree that had fallen onto the tracks between
Elmshorn and
Westerland. One of the locomotives was damaged, no casualties were reported. An
InterCity train with 450 passengers on board was stuck near
Diepholz and had to be evacuated,
Duisburg Hauptbahnhof station was suffering from a power outage as the result of a grid failure.
[43]
Berlin's Central Station
Late on January 18, the
central railway station in Berlin suffered from major structural damage. A two-ton girder fell from a height of 40 metres (130 ft), damaging an outside stairwell. The station was completely evacuated, as glass plates from the façade were coming loose and falling to the pavement below.
[44] On the early afternoon of
January 19, the station was opened to the public again.
[45] Discussion started as to whether the eight-month-old station was suffering from design failures, but these claims were rejected by both the Deutsche Bahn and the architect. The girders provide no means of structural support and are, for architectural reasons, only lying on small supports similar to a
shelf and not permanently fixed in place. The DB claimed that it will address the problem by welding additional supports in front of the girders, and that they would close the station at winds exceeding 8
bft until the problem was resolved. On the afternoon of
January 21,
2007, the station was closed again to the public due to heavy winds at the time.
[46] and remained closed until 20:00 CET.
[47] Some politicians have suggested opening Berlin's
Bahnhof Zoo for long-distance services again to have an alternative to the central station in cases of bad weather until the problem has been addressed, but the
Deutsche Bahn has refused these suggestions on the claims that they would be both unfeasible and unnecessary.
Casualties and fatalities
According to the
BBC, at least 43 people were killed by the evening of 19 January.
[48]
The casualties were distributed as follows:
Western Europe
United Kingdom
In the
United Kingdom this storm caused twelve deaths, all in
England, all on
January 18:
★ The first casualty of the storm was the Managing Director of
Birmingham International Airport who was killed around 05:45 GMT when his car
windscreen was broken by a falling branch in
Shropshire.
[49]
★ In the
London district of
Kentish Town, a two-year-old boy died in hospital after receiving severe head injuries when a wall fell on him while he was walking with his
childminder in the afternoon of January 18.
[50]
★ A female lorry driver was killed on the
A629 in
Yorkshire when her lorry overturned and was blown into a
canal.
[51]
★ A male lorry driver, who was a
German national, was killed on the
A55 near
Chester in a similar incident.
[52]
★ The front-seat male passenger of a car on the
A329 was killed when a branch hit the car near
Streatley, Berkshire; the driver was injured.
[52]
★ A man was blown into metal
shutters at an
industrial estate in
Manchester and died.
[52]
★ In
Byley,
Cheshire, a man was hit by a tree while working on a
construction site.
[52]
★ An elderly man was killed in
North Lincolnshire by a collapsing shed.
[52]
★ A woman in
Stockport was killed when a wall she tried to shelter behind fell onto her.
[52]
★ In
Lancashire, a man was hit by a falling
canopy at a
petrol station whilst refuelling and later died in hospital.
[52]
★ In
Woofferton,
Shropshire, a lorry driver collided with another vehicle and died on the scene.
[52]
Germany
Germany was the country most severely hit by the storm, with 13 casualties as of
January 21, 2007. Most deaths occurred on the 18 and
19 January, though some victims were only injured at first and later died in hospital.
★ In the
Munich borough of
Milbertshofen, an 18-month old child was severely injured by a patio door that had broken out of its hinges. The child later died in hospital.
[60][61][62]
★ Near
Kirrlach in the state of
Baden-Württemberg, a motorist tried to avoid a tree that had fallen onto the road and crashed into an oncoming vehicle. He was pronounced dead on the scene.
[63]
★ A 73-year old man was crushed by a
barn door in
Gersthofen in the district of
Augsburg.
[64]
★ A
fireman was killed in
Tönisvorst in
North Rhine-Westphalia while cleaning up after the storm.
[65]
★ A 36-year motorist was killed in
Hildesheim by a fallen tree.
[63]
★ A
motorcycle driver slid under a tree in
Essen, dying in hospital on
January 21.
[63]
★ On the
B 55 near
Lippstadt, a 23-year woman was killed when her car was hit by a falling
birch tree..
[68]
★ A man was killed when a
gable of a nearby building collapsed in
Groß Rodensleben in the state of
Saxony-Anhalt.
[63]
★ In
Strausberg in
Brandenburg, a 25-year man crashed into a fallen tree with his car.
[63]
★ Near
Finnentrop, a man died after not noticing a tree that had fallen onto the road and crashing into it.
[63]
★ A man in
Mülheim an der Ruhr was killed by a falling tree.
[72]
The Netherlands
Seven people in the
Netherlands were killed as a result of the weather. Two people died when a falling tree hit their car between
Arnhem and
Ede. A man near
Oosterhout was killed in a collision with a truck. A motorcyclist died near
Leersum after a collision with a tree, as well as a 17-year old boy on a
moped in
Sint Oedenrode. An 11-year old boy in
Riel was blown in front of a car, which drove over him. The boy died on the scene. A 59-year old man in
Staphorst was blown off of the roof of his barn, as he was repairing the damage caused by the storm. Six people were injured when a crane fell through the roof of a
Utrecht University building.
39 The National Crisis Centre advised people to stay indoors, the first time such a warning has been issued.
[73]
France
In
France, a driving instructor in
Roubaix was killed when an electricity pole fell on top of her car. The student was severely injured. A 30-year old man died near
Abbeville, when a swerving truck crashed into his car. A woman in
Lille is missing after the roof of a store collapsed.
[74] There was significant damage to the cathedral at
Saint-Omer.
[75]
Belgium
Three people in
Belgium fell victim to the storm; a 16-year old girl in
Halle died when a wall she was standing by collapsed and a man died in the
province of Liège after a tree fell on top of his car.
[76] In Antwerp a 12-year old boy was hit and seriously injured by a falling beam, and later died of his injuries.
[77]
Central and Eastern Europe
In
Poland:
★ A
crane operator was killed in
Katowice when a 25-metre-high (82 ft) crane broke in half.
[78]
★ 20 ft electrical signs were torn off the hotel Wspianski building in
Krakow, causing widespread damage.
★ By
January 19 a total of 6 casualties and 19 people wounded have been reported, nearly 800 thousand households lack electricity due to the damage done by the storm, about 500 were damaged.
[79]
In the
Czech Republic:
★ A
fireman died in
SluneÄná (
Liberec Region) when the wind threw a tree trunk on him while he and his colleagues were clearing the road.
★ Two young men died in
Vestec near Prague when a tree fell on their car.
[80]16
Gallery
See also
★
Winter storms of 2006-07
★
North American ice storm of 2007
References
1. Milliardenschäden nach Orkan
2. Wetter - Rückblick für Kopenhagen
3. Poland battered by deadly storm
4.
5. Wetterpatenschaft Tiefdruckgebiete
6. http://www.met.fu-berlin.de/adopt-a-vortex/historie/
7. Cyril Storm Named After Bulgarian
8. Orkantief "Kyrill" auf dem Weg nach Deutschland
9. Das Chaos am Tag nach dem Orkan
10. http://www.tornadoliste.de
11. Huragan Kyrill w Polsce - prędkość wiatru przekraczała 200 km/h
12. Storm ravages Czech Republic and neighbouring countries Ilya Marritz
13. 26 flee sinking ship as storm batters UK
14. Sturm-Ticker: Das Neueste von Kyrill
15. Katastrophenalarm für SI-WI
16. More than 1 million Czech homes without power from storm Associated Press
17. Storms in Europe Kill 46, Disrupt Travel David Rising, Associated Press
18.
Wichura szaleje nad PolskÄ…
19. "Kyrill" unterbricht russische Öllieferungen nach Osteuropa
20. History for Torino, Italy. ''Weather Underground''. 2007-01-19. Last accessed 2007-01-22.
21. Storm kills 27 in northern Europe Associated Press
22. Swiss Re estimates its claims for winter storm Kyrill to be in the region of EUR 140 million
23. UK storm payout 'may hit £350m'
24. Bangen um Dionysos
25. Storm damages Cologne mosaic in 100 places
26. Stricken ship shelters off coast
27. Vessel leaks 200 tonnes of fuel
28. Severe storms sweep across Wales
29. Germany braces for major storm
30. Transport chaos as country battered by 140 km/h gales
31. Heute Orkanböen über Norddeutschland erwartet
32. Cargo ship runs aground near Latvia
33. Photos of cargo ship grounded near Ventspils, Latvia
34. Roads closed around Runcorn
35. Harsh Winds Batter Europe, Killing 12, Stranding Ship
36. Orkan im Ansturm - 40.000 THW-Helfer in Bereitschaft
37. Harsh Europe Cleans Up After Hurricane-Force Winds Kill 41 Alex Morales
38. Nine dead as UK struck by storms
39. Drie doden door storm, treinverkeer gestaakt
40.
41. Bahn stellt Verkehr in weiten Teilen Deutschlands ein
42. Bahn-Alptraum auf 34.000 Kilometern
43.
44. Stahlträger am Hauptbahnhof abgerissen
45.
46. Berliner Hauptbahnhof erneut gesperrt
47. Berliner Hauptbahnhof wieder geöffnet
48.
49. Airport boss dies in heavy storms
50. Two-year-old storm victim named
51. In full:Weather-related deaths
52.
53.
54.
55.
56.
57.
58.
59.
60. Orkan tötet 18 Monate altes Mädchen
61. Orkantief "Kyrill": Bahn stellt Fernverkehr in Deutschland ein
62. Sturmtief "Kyrill" forderte Dutzende Todesopfer
63.
64.
65. Orkan: Zwei Todesopfer in NRW
66.
67.
68.
69.
70.
71.
72. Folgen des Orkantiefs "Kyrill" fast bewältigt
73. Huge storm causes havoc, public told to stay indoors
74. La tempête fait au moins onze morts en Europe, dont deux dans le nord de la France
75. 42 killed as storms sweep Europe
76. Twee doden door de zware storm
77. Jongen bezwijkt aan verwondingen storm
78. Wichury w Polsce - pierwsza
ofiara
79. Sześć ofiar śmiertelnych huraganu w Polsce, wiatr już słabnie
80. Orkán Kyrill má v ČR už tři oběti
External links
★
SPIEGEL online video summary of events (needs Flash)
★
3D Animation of Storm "Kyrill" reconstructed from Satellite Images (January 18, 2007), University of Heidelberg
العربية
ä¸å›½
Français
Deutsch
Ελληνική
हिनà¥à¤¦à¥€
Italiano
日本語
Português
РуÑÑкий
Español
![Don\](images/articles/thumbs/beachrainthumb.jpg "Don\")
