Power outages: 150,000 homes dark after Boelo and Austen

More than 150,000 homes across the United Kingdom, France, and Germany were without electricity on Sunday after storms Boelo and Austen swept through northern Europe within a 24-hour period. Authorities in the three countries recorded over 82,000 outages in the UK, nearly 60,000 in France, and at least 10,000 in Germany.

Winds reached 135 km/h (84 mph) in Argyll and Bute in western Scotland. In southwestern Scotland, a falling tree killed a 60-year-old man on Sunday. Two women in central Scotland were injured by another falling tree. German police reported that two people were seriously hurt on Saturday when scaffolding blew off a market in Nastatten. In northern France, a marathon runner was lightly injured by a tree that fell during the race.

French energy operator Enedis reported that during Austen's peak on Saturday, 288,000 homes lacked power, with approximately 59,000 still out at midday Sunday, concentrated in Normandy and Brittany. In Germany, Austen cut electricity to 10,000 homes around Freiburg-Breisgau on Sunday. The town's main hospital limited service to emergency cases during the blackout, which also disabled the mobile phone network.

Storm debris blocked roads and rail lines across Scotland and northern England. In Brighton, on England's southern coast, Austen blew away an unused pier on Friday. Hundreds of flights were cancelled or diverted across northern Europe, including at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport. Falling trees injured four people in Brussels on Saturday. Three crew members were injured aboard a freight ship north of Schiermonnikoog in the Netherlands; two were airlifted to a mainland hospital.

The Met Office warned that Boelo brought a danger to life from flying debris and crashing waves, advising residents to stay indoors as much as possible. Authorities also warned of flood risk in parts of Scotland and England.

Storms Boelo and Austen also impacted the Netherlands and Belgium.