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Flights cancelled, as Northern Europe suffered from winds up to 150 kilometers per hour

The storms struck Britain and Northern Europe on Sunday heavy rain and Gale-force winds, forcing them to cancel flights, trains and sporting events.

More than 200 flood warnings were issued across the UK while residents in the town of Appleby-in-Westmorland in northwest England battled to protect their homes after a river burst its banks.

Transport was affected across the UK with national weather service records the maximum wind speed of 150 kilometers per hour in Aberdare in Wales.

Some domestic and international flights from airports including Heathrow and Gatwick were cancelled while others were diverted to ensure they landed safely. The pilot of one flight took four attempts to land at Gatwick on Sunday morning because of the force of the winds from Storm Ciara.

The harsh conditions were also felt in mainland Europe. In the Netherlands the storm led to around 120 flights to and from Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport, one of Europe’s largest, to be axed or delayed as it blew in off the Atlantic.

Fierce winds also knocked out power in thousands of homes in Ireland and France, while Luxembourg said that students can stay home on Monday. Germany also canceled long-distance trains.

The UK’s rail network suffered significant disruption with fallen power lines, trees and even trampolines blocking tracks. Train operators warned people not to travel unless they had to.

Storm Ciara spurs TRANS-Atlantic flights to record speeds

Manchester City v West Ham and matches across Europe postponed owing to storms

In London, one crane on a construction site was bent double by the winds while a driver was stuck in his car for an hour in Flitwick, 70 kms north of the capital, after a tree crashed across on top of it.

All shipping movements in and out of the Port of Dover on the south coast were suspended because of the high seas and the Humber Bridge in northern England was closed to all traffic for only the second time since it opened in 1981.

Sporting events were also hit in Britain including Manchester City’s Premier League match against West Ham because of “extreme and escalating weather conditions”. All professional Dutch soccer matches were cancelled.

The eight Royal parks of London, in the house which is home to more than 170 000 trees were closed, and even the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace, a major tourist draw, was also cancelled due to the weather.