Dramatic pictures of huge waves, fallen trees and the damaged roof of the Millennium Dome have knocked the Ukraine crisis off the front of most front pages on Saturday after Storm Eunice battered Britain.
The Guardian’s lead story is “At least four dead as worst storm in decades roars in” along with a picture of wild seas crashing into the harbour wall in Porthcawl in Wales. At least 20 million people in Britain have been told to stay at home, it reports.
The Mirror’s headline is “Carnage” and is laid over a photograph of huge waves and spray on the seafront at Blackpool, with the town’s famous Tower seen forlornly in the background.
Several papers feature pictures of the Millennium Dome damage, with the Times calling Friday a “Day of destruction” and reporting that energy companies are under pressure to restore power to hundreds of thousands of homes cut off after the violent weather brought down electricity lines.
The Telegraph also likes the Dome picture and has the accompanying headline “Chaos of Storm Eunice”. It says the bad weather is going to continue for the next week, hampering efforts to clean up the mess and reconnect homes.
The Mail has the headline “Britain’s 122mph Dome-lition day”, but its lead story is “MI5 chief: UK’s ‘fight to keep our way of life’”.
The Express says “Battered by killer storm” and reports that Britain could face a bill of £500m to repair the damage caused by the biggest storm for decades.
The Star focuses on the sheer speed of the winds – “122mph killer” – which is what was provisionally recorded at the Needles on the Isle of Wight. If verified, it would be the highest ever recorded in England and converts to 196km/h. The previous record was 118mph at Gwennap Head in Cornwall in 1979.
The i notes that “red alerts” related to weather events will become more common because of climate breakdown under the main headline “122mph storm batters Britain”. The Sun’s splash headline is “Blown apart”.
The storm has brought snow and freezing weather to Scotland. The Record’s headline is “Storm troupers”, and the story of a mother thanking “heroes” who helped push an ambulance up a hill in the snow so her sick child could treated.
The Press and Journal says “More misery on way after Eunice” with wild weather set to continue until Monday.