Beast From The East 2017 Flashcards
primary impacts
Ten people died
Up to 50cms of snow fell on high ground
Rural (countryside) areas experienced temperature lows of up to -12°C
secondary impacts
Hundreds of schools were forced to close
Thousands of schools were closed across the UK, including more than 125 in North Yorkshire and more than 330 across Kent, and hospital operations were cancelled.
Many rail services were cancelled.
British Airways cancelled hundreds of short-haul flights from Heathrow, and London City Airport also cancelled many services.
The National Grid issued a ‘gas deficit warning’ prompting fears of a shortage, but households were reassured domestic supplies would not be affected.
Nearly all train operators warned of cancellations and disruption, and hundreds of flights were cancelled.
Hundreds of motorists on the M80 near Glasgow were stuck for up to 13 hours, with some spending the night in their cars and others abandoning their vehicles. Around 1,000 vehicles were at a standstill, tailing back eight miles in both directions.
There was a shortage of food in some supermarkets.
Drifting snow led to the isolation of several villages.
responses
Red weather warnings were issued covering parts of Scotland, Devon, Somerset, and South Wales, prompting Devon and Cornwall police to declare a major incident. The red weather warning was just the third in seven years.
The Environment Agency issued flood warnings for parts of Cornwall’s south coast. Residents were told to expect tides to be around 400 mm.
The Royal Air Force was drafted in to help relief efforts in snow-hit Lincolnshire. Ten RAF vehicles and their crews transported doctors and stranded patients after local police admitted they struggled to cope.
High on the Pennines on the M62, the military provided support rescuing vehicles.
In Edinburgh, soldiers were deployed to help transport about 200 NHS clinical and support staff to and from the Western General Hospital and Edinburgh Royal Infirmary.
