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WORLD NEWS Tuesday 17 OcTOber 2017
Hurricane Ophelia’s remnants batter UK, Ireland; 3 dead

Varadkar said. were grounded at several
“The last time there was a locations in the British Isles.
storm this severe, 11 lives Some 130 flights were can-
were lost,” he added, refer- celled at Dublin Airport,
ring to Hurricane Debbie, while flights were also
which hit Ireland in 1961. grounded at Manchester
Although Ophelia has Airport.
been downgraded to a Both Ryanair and Easy Jet
post-tropical cyclone, Ire- cancelled flights at Belfast
land’s National Emergency International Airport, with
Coordination Group on Se- more cancellations ex-
vere Weather warned that pected. Several flights to
the storm is still “unprec- British airports were also di-
edented, with serious life- verted because of unusual
threatening conditions.” odors on board thought
Ireland’s weather service, to be associated with the
Met Eireann, described the remnants of the storm.
storm as the most power- Authorities warned anyone
ful on record to have ever with travel plans to contact
been this far east in the At- their airline.
lantic. In parts of the United King-
Waves break around the church in the harbour at Porthleven, Cornwall southwestern England, as Forecasters warned of fly- dom and in France’s Brit-
the remnants of Hurricane Ophelia begins to hit parts of Britain and Ireland. Ireland’s meteorological ing debris, such as tiles tany region, the sky turned
service is predicting wind gusts of 120 kph to 150 kph (75 mph to 93 mph), sparking fears of travel blown from roofs. Large an eerie color as Oph-
chaos. Some flights have been cancelled, and aviation officials are warning travelers to check waves around coastal dis- elia’s winds carried a mix
the latest information before going to the airport Monday. tricts tossed sand and rocks of sand from the Sahara
(Ben Birchall/PA via AP) onto coastal roads, sea- and particles from forest
By DANICA KIRKA spread power outages. 30 years to the day after a fronts and properties. fires in Spain and Portugal.
Associated Press Irish Prime Minister Leo weather event dubbed the Wind warnings were in On social media, people
LONDON (AP) — The rem- Varadkar urged people to “Great Storm of 1987” bat- place for Northern Ireland, posted pictures of London
nants of Hurricane Ophelia stay indoors until the storm tered southern England. “It parts of Wales and western landmarks against yellow-
slammed into Ireland with passed. is a very dangerous storm,” parts of England. Planes orange skies.q
wind gusts of up to 80 mph Tens of thousands of homes
(130 kph) on Monday, kill- were without power and
ing at least three people, the military was placed on
grounding planes, shutting standby. Some hurricane-
schools and causing wide- force gusts were reported

Portugal wildfires kill at least 35

By BARRY HATTON dead, the Civil Protection
Associated Press Agency said Monday. The
LISBON, Portugal (AP) — infant’s body was found
Late season wildfires that near Tabua, some 200 kilo-
broke out over the week- meters (120 miles) north of
end in Portugal have killed Lisbon. The parent’s bod-
at least 35 people, includ- ies reportedly were found
ing a 1-month-old infant, nearby. Officials did not
authorities said Monday, provide further details.
making 2017 by far the Civil Protection Agency
deadliest year on record spokeswoman Patricia
for forest blazes in the Gaspar said the death toll
country. could rise.
In neighboring Spain, “We are still searching burnt
wildfires have also killed areas to see if there are
at least four people and any more victims,” Gaspar
prompted the evacuation told The Associated Press.
of thousands in the north- She said 56 people were in-
west region of Galicia, as jured, 16 of them seriously,
the remnants of winds from and nine people were re-
Hurricane Ophelia fanned ported missing in the blaz-
the flames along Iberia’s es that broke out over the
Atlantic coast. weekend.
The fires returned to Por- More than 5,300 firefighters
tugal four months after a with more than 1,600 ve-
summer blaze claimed 64 hicles were still battling the
lives in one night. The year’s fires through dense pine
current total of 99 deaths and eucalyptus forests
is far higher than the pre- Monday.
vious annual record of Portugal endures wide-
25, in 1966. A one-month- spread forest blazes every
old baby was among the summer. q