Merseyside Battered by 76mph gales

[jimmy]

Merseyside battered by 76mph gales
Mar 12 2008


storms

GALES of up to 76mph battered Merseyside earlier today, damaging houses, uprooting trees and forcing HGVs odd the road.

Two houses in Prescot and Toxteth partly collapsed between 3am and 5am when the gusts were at their most powerful.

The Thelwall viaduct on the M6 motorway near Warrington was closed today after three lorries overturned.

They toppled over at around 4am when the winds reached their peak, prompting Cheshire police to close the motorway between junctions 20 and 21.

A police spokesman said no-one was injured but all three drivers were left shaken.

The Runcorn-Widnes Silver Jubilee Bridge was also closed to high-sided vehicles this morning.

But police expressed concern that lorry drivers were ignoring their pleas and were crossing the bridge.

The region’s police forces were placed on red alert overnight as strategic plans were put in place to react to any major incidents caused by the weather.

There was drama in Liverpool city centre when a huge window from the recently completed West Tower, in Brook Street, blew out.

It sent glass falling to the floor, which shattered over a parked car belonging to a worker in the Liverpool Daily Post's press hall.

Liverpool coastguard said the winds reached 76 mph overnight.

They said warnings about not going out onto the water had been heeded.

But they added crashing waves were likely at around midday on waterfronts as the tide comes in.

Fire crews were called to Hayes Avenue, Prescot, at 3am today when a gable wall end fell down.

A family fled their homes when the outer wall was blown over, smashing into the garden shed, fence and leaving debris strewn over a neighbour’s property.

A fire spokesman said: “The wall came crashing down and nearly killed the poor dog that was in its kennel.

“They went to stay with their neighbours. It’s a council owned property so they will be housed somewhere else now.

“They had a lucky escape.�

In Windsor Street, Toxteth, an empty house collapsed due to the high winds at around 5.20am.

The property is next to a betting shop which collapsed a number of months ago.

Merseyside police said they were alerted to a number of weather-related incidents including a collapsed lamppost on Leeds Street in the city centre and a fallen tree in Great Homer Street.

A spokesman said: “A lot of people have been waking up to some very high winds, but no real damage.�

In Banks Road, Garston, a large tree collapsed across the road.

Another tree fell in School Lane, Woolton, while one crashed down in the middle of the cemetery in Greenwich Road, Longmoor Lane, Aintree.

Fallen trees were also reported in Croxteth Hall Lane, Croxteth and Blackthorne Road, Walton, and Great Homer Street, Everton.

In Wirral, fire crews were called to clear trees in Pasture Road, Moreton, and Dee View Road, in Heswall.

A tree also came down in Arrowe Park Road.

At 2am police had to move people from Otterspool promenade where they were watching the wind on the River Mersey.

The high tide and ferocious conditions made it dangerous for anyone to stand at the waterfront.Liverpool council’s emergency planning team was today dealing with a number of fallen lamp posts and trees across the city.

Officials said the worst of the weather came between 4am and 5am, when the wind reached gale force 11, although its south-westerly direction lessened the effect on homes and businesses.

A council spokesman said: “Thankfully, the Met Office warnings meant we were able to prepare well in advance.�

A Knowsley council spokesman said no roads or schools in the borough were closed due to the weather today.

She said a team of officials was out assessing the damage.

On the rail network, a tree blew across the train track at Capenhurst, between Chester and Hooton, at 5am and rail replacement buses were provided.

The tree was removed and the service was resumed at 6.30am before people started travelling to work.

Merseyrail services between Hunts Cross and Liverpool Central were cancelled this morning due to debris on the line with a rail replacement buses running instead.

Services between Liverpool Central and Southport were also suffering delays and some cancellations, although all other Merseyrail lines were running as normal.

Mersey ferries were also unaffected this morning. But travel officials were keeping a close eye on conditions with a review of the cruise service due later today.

High water at 2am meant that Wirral’s promenades were empty, but Liverpool Coastguard said walls were breached with high waves lashing sea defences.

High volumes of traffic were reported in the Mersey tunnels, partly due to the closure of the M6 in Cheshire and the ban on HGVs using Runcorn bridge, which meant they had to go through the Kingsway tunnel.

A Merseytravel spokesman said: “We are asking motorists to be very patient as it has been a particularly busy morning.�

A spokesman for Liverpool John Lennon Airport said there had been no cancellations or diversions due to the weather.

But a number of early morning passengers experienced delays of about an hour.

The Environment Agency has a severe flood warning in place for the Kingsway North area of Warrington along with 13 other flood warnings - mainly in North West England.

[Waterways]

One of the fallouts of global warming is high winds. Go into your lofts and bolt your roofs down. I mean this. Most roofs rely on the weight of the roof to keep it down. In the Birmingham tornado a few years back many roofs came off because they were not secured properly. It is an easy thing to do.

A huge tree outside mine came down in the winds.
I didn't hear it .It's a good job it fell the way it did or my house would of certainly been damaged.

[TonyS]

Here's a pic from New Brighton, Wednesday afternoon.

[ChrisGeorge]

Thanks for the info, folks, and for your great photograph, Tony. I saw the view from the Hilbre Island webcam yesterday and saw that it looked very rough out there.

Chris

[Barb]

Thanks for the info and photo, it's good to get the news and personal experiences when you are 12,000 miles away. Cheers guys!

[Ged]

Great pic Tony, I believe my friend met you over there. Well done for making the effort.