Terrifying moment Storm Ciaran battered Channel Islands 'like bomb had gone off'

02 November 2023 , 08:32

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The country is being battered by Storm Ciaran (Image: Sienna Anderson/pictureexclusive.com)

A couple have told how they heard a noise like a “bomb going off” as their roof came crashing down during 104mph winds in Jersey.

The UK is being battered by extreme wind and rain that is sweeping in from the south west with the Channel Islands expected to be hardest hit. A red warning is in place with people people told not to go outside in Jersey with “conditions very dangerous”.

People have been forced to take refuge in a hotel after winds in excess of 100mph from the storm damaged property on Jersey. Across the south coast, an amber warning, the second most severe, runs from 6am to 5pm on Thursday with winds expected to reach 70mph to 80mph, with the potential for 85mph and large waves.

A couple describe the moment that their roof collapsed (ITV)

A further amber warning is in place until 11am in Devon and Cornwall, with the Met Office predicting Storm Ciaran will bring winds of 75mph to 85mph, with 65mph to 75mph gusts inland.

One couple told ITV how their roof collapsed at their property in Jersey. “Everything just comes through from the loft, the roof of the loft,” said a man, who gestured with his arms as though everything was falling down. “And outside well, like a bomb hits the place. I’m not going to say any more it’s upsetting.” And his partnered added it was a "nightmare".

Met Office says UK will be battered by monster rain storm with 4 inches falling

Another woman whose home was also damaged said: “It was so quick it happened. It was one minute everything was okay, the next the whole thing just went. It was literally that quick and the fact is, it’s not at its worst the storm, is it, it’s going to hit even worse.”

Mum-of-two Natalie Carre, who lives in St Clement, described it as “carnage”. She said: "All the windows are smashed in... the whole front of our building is smashed. All our cars are written off, we've got neighbours who've got holes in their roofs. Their roofs have come into their children's bedroom ... it is absolute carnage. We know that there's water coming into our house."

A tweet from Jersey Fire and Rescue said: “As wind speed increases we're seeing an increase in calls. We currently have eight crews out dealing with incidents, mainly in St Clement and St Helier. The highest wind speed recorded is 104mph. Please follow advice and don't go outside. Conditions are very dangerous.”

Weather warnings in place for today (Met Office)

The government of Jersey has said that three people have been taken to hospital and 40 have been evacuated from their home. It stated: “In what is an ongoing situation, emergency services and staff from Infrastructure and Environment have been working through the night to answer hundreds of calls from Islanders, with the vast majority related to storm damage.

“While affected Islanders have been moved to hotels and parish halls which opened in the early hours to act as temporary shelters for displaced residents, attention is now turned to this morning's High Tide which is expected to be 11.5m at 8.40am and, with the ongoing high winds, could be higher.

“Among the worst-hit areas last night were FB Fields and parts of St Clement while Gloucester Street was closed just after 5.30am when parts of the hospital's Paediatric Block roof became unstable.”

Tim Hanlon