Storm Ewen kills two, leaves more than a million without power

Arab Weather - The British Meteorological Office said that Storm Ewen was likely the strongest storm to hit the United Kingdom in at least 10 years, with wind speeds exceeding 160 km/h.

The storm left nearly a million properties without power across the British Isles, while many roads and railways were closed, and a 20-year-old man was killed when a tree fell on his car in Ireland as winds reached a record 114mph.

Parts of Scotland and Northern Ireland suffered significant property damage, with Network Rail Scotland recording nearly 400 incidents of damage.

According to the Britain in Arabic website, the storm caused the death of two people, serious damage to the infrastructure, and power outages for more than a million citizens in the cities of Scotland and Northern Ireland. The authorities were forced to suspend studies and stop trains and air traffic in a number of cities.

Met Office forecasters have described Hurricane Ewen as "extremely exceptional" and the most severe storm to hit parts of the UK in 20 to 30 years.

The Northern Ireland Infrastructure Department has recorded more than 1,800 incidents of fallen trees, and Paul Morrow, group commander of the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service, told BBC Breakfast that what his crew had witnessed was something we had never seen before.

Northern Ireland Education Minister Paul Givan said 100 schools had reported significant damage to buildings and some schools could remain closed until next Monday, while Police Scotland said it had responded to nearly 1,900 weather-related incidents across the country.

In Ireland, about 625,000 properties were without power on Friday evening, with the country's electricity network operator describing the damage to electricity infrastructure as unprecedented and widespread.