by FFE EU News Staff

Meteorologists have just said that hurricane Xaver may be the worst to hit the UK in years.

When the hurricane hit Scotland and parts of England, Britain’s weather office estimated its winds peaked at 140mph. Three were left dead in the UK: a lorry driver died when his truck overturned in West Lothian, Scotland, another was killed by a falling tree in Nottingham, England. In western Denmark, a 72-year-old passenger also died when the truck she was in overturned.

Widespread power outage was felt in the UK: 80,000 homes in Scotland and 20,000 homes in Britain were affected. All services were cancelled and roads were closed in Scotland on Thursday morning to prevent accidents. As of Thursday evening, 41 severe flood warnings were also issued by the Environment Agency in eastern England.

A news clip showing hurricane Xaver storm surges in the UK’s coast

In the German port of Hamburg, flights have been cancelled and most of the industrial plants and schools were closed. Meteorologists advise that people remain indoors and limit their travels.

Many services in Denmark, Netherlands and south Sweden have also been cancelled due to high winds that would put people at risk. The Copenhagen airport has closed all traffic yesterday, while rail company DSB has stopped operation of most trains. The Dutch Railways and Amsterdam’s SchipholAirport have also cancelled their journeys.

An amateur clip showing hurricane Xaver storm surges in Emden, Germany

Meteorologists warn that hurricane Xaver could be much more destructive than October’s hurricane Christian. Xaver’s effects have been likened to the 1953 flooding on the North Sea coast and the German flooding in 1962 that killed 315 people.

The storm is set to hit northern Germany on Friday morning.