london storm eunice killed at least nine people in europe on friday pummelling britain with recordbreaking winds and forcing millions to take shelter as it disrupted flights trains and ferries across western europelondon was eerily empty after the british capital was placed under its first ever red weather warning meaning there was danger to life by nightfall police there said a woman in her 30s had died after a tree fell on a car she was a passenger inmeanwhile a man in his 50s was also killed in northwest england after debris struck the windscreen of a vehicle he was travelling in according to merseyside policebeyond britain falling trees killed three people in the netherlands and a man in his 60s in southeast ireland while a canadian man aged 79 died in belgium according to officials in each countrya motorist was killed when their car crashed into a tree that had fallen across a road near adorp in the netherlands northern province of groningenand in germany a motorist died after his car was hit by a tree near the town of altenbergedozens of homes were evacuated in the hague amid fears a church steeple could collapse footage showed the steeple wobbling and a large piece of debris falling on a caras well as in london the highest weather alert level was declared across southern england south wales and the netherlands with many schools closed and rail travel paralysed as towering waves breached sea walls along the coastsmeanwhile eunices winds knocked out power to more than 140000 homes in england mostly in the southwest and 80000 properties in ireland utility companies saidaround london three people were taken to hospital after suffering injuries in the storm and a large section of the roof on the millennium dome was shredded by the galesone wind gust of 122 miles 196 kilometres per hour was measured on the isle of wight off southern england provisionally the highest gust ever recorded in england the met office saidat the tan hill inn britains highest pub in yorkshire staff were busy preparing even if the winds remained merely blustery in the region of northern englandbut with the snow coming in now the winds increasing were battening down the hatches getting ready for a bad day and worse night pub maintenance worker angus leslie told afpscientists said the atlantic storms tail could pack a sting jet a rarely seen meteorological phenomenon that brought havoc to britain and northern france in the great storm of 1987eunice caused high waves to batter the brittany coast in northwest france while belgium denmark and sweden all issued weather warnings longdistance and regional trains were halted in northern germanyferries across the channel the worlds busiest shipping lane were suspended before the english port of dover reopened in the late afternoonhundreds of flights were cancelled or delayed at londons heathrow and gatwick airports and schiphol in amsterdam one easyjet flight from bordeaux endured two aborted landings at gatwick which saw wind gusts peak at