Storm Agnes barrelled into the UK and Ireland on Wednesday, with heavy rain and strong winds bearing down over much of the British Isles.
The first named storm of the season brought gales of 127kph to the Welsh village of Capel Curig on Wednesday evening, with other areas – including Northern Ireland and Cornwall – seeing strong winds and heavy rain.
The Met Office warned the storm would “rapidly intensify”, creating a danger to life warning that would remain in place until Thursday morning.
The UK has experienced flooding, travel disruption and power cuts as a result.
A woman had to be rescued from her car in County Derry, Northern Ireland, after it was trapped by floodwater, while an easyJet plane was unable to land in Belfast on Wednesday afternoon due to “winds gusting outside the limits of the aircraft”.
Around 135 properties on the Isles of Scilly, off the south-west of England, experienced power outages for just under four hours earlier on Wednesday, according to National Grid.
But the Met Office said the main impact on Britain has been strong winds.
Meteorologist Dan Stroud said gusts are starting to ease in England and Wales.
He said: “It's an improving picture across England and Wales but there's still some very strong gusts actually further north across Northern Ireland and Scotland.
“But we're expecting the peak of the wind gusts in Storm Agnes to gradually ease during the overnight period.”
Ireland, where Agnes first made landfall, saw flooding and travel disruption, with fallen trees blocking roads and flights and ferries also being affected.
A roof was blown off a building in County Cork.
The Royal National Lifeboat Institution had warned of “dangerous conditions” off the coasts.
Clifden and Achill Island RNLI braved the storm to rescue a lone sailor in a boat located 10 miles west of Clare Island.
The rescue organisation said: “Sea conditions at the time were very difficult and the lifeboat crews faced four-metre swells, driving rain and Force 8 winds out at sea.”
Alerts triggered by Storm Agnes included a wind warning until 7am on Thursday, which was cancelled early on Thursday morning.
The warning stretched across Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales, as well as the south-west of England, the West Midlands and most of the North of England.
Babet and Ciarán will be the next named storms of the season, which began in September. Future storms this season could include Walid.
Storms are named when they are deemed to have the potential to cause medium to high impact in Britain, Ireland or the Netherlands.
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Engine: 2.4-litre 4-cylinder
Power: 184hp at 6,400rpm
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AUSTRALIA SQUAD
Steve Smith (capt), David Warner, Cameron Bancroft, Jackson Bird, Pat Cummins, Peter Handscomb, Josh Hazlewood, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Shaun Marsh, Tim Paine, Chadd Sayers, Mitchell Starc.
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
How to help
Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
2289 – Dh10
2252 – Dh 50
6025 – Dh20
6027 – Dh 100
6026 – Dh 200
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Brief scoreline:
Al Wahda 2
Al Menhali 27', Tagliabue 79'
Al Nassr 3
Hamdallah 41', Giuliano 45 1', 62'
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The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
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Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
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The specs
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Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
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Five hymns the crowds can join in
Papal Mass will begin at 10.30am at the Zayed Sports City Stadium on Tuesday
Some 17 hymns will be sung by a 120-strong UAE choir
Five hymns will be rehearsed with crowds on Tuesday morning before the Pope arrives at stadium
‘Christ be our Light’ as the entrance song
‘All that I am’ for the offertory or during the symbolic offering of gifts at the altar
‘Make me a Channel of your Peace’ and ‘Soul of my Saviour’ for the communion
‘Tell out my Soul’ as the final hymn after the blessings from the Pope
The choir will also sing the hymn ‘Legions of Heaven’ in Arabic as ‘Assakiroo Sama’
There are 15 Arabic speakers from Syria, Lebanon and Jordan in the choir that comprises residents from the Philippines, India, France, Italy, America, Netherlands, Armenia and Indonesia
The choir will be accompanied by a brass ensemble and an organ
They will practice for the first time at the stadium on the eve of the public mass on Monday evening
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
What are the main cyber security threats?
Cyber crime - This includes fraud, impersonation, scams and deepfake technology, tactics that are increasingly targeting infrastructure and exploiting human vulnerabilities.
Cyber terrorism - Social media platforms are used to spread radical ideologies, misinformation and disinformation, often with the aim of disrupting critical infrastructure such as power grids.
Cyber warfare - Shaped by geopolitical tension, hostile actors seek to infiltrate and compromise national infrastructure, using one country’s systems as a springboard to launch attacks on others.
The specs: 2018 Opel Mokka X
Price, as tested: Dh84,000
Engine: 1.4L, four-cylinder turbo
Transmission: Six-speed auto
Power: 142hp at 4,900rpm
Torque: 200Nm at 1,850rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L / 100km
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Gulf Under 19s final
Dubai College A 50-12 Dubai College B
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
