THE biggest clean-up operation in recent history was under way today after Jersey was blasted by 100mph winds and a tornado ripped through a housing estate – tearing off tiles, blowing out windows and leaving streets strewn with debris.
More than 80 Islanders were yesterday in hotel accommodation after being evacuated from their homes as Storm Ciarán carved a trail of destruction across the Channel Islands and southern parts of the UK.
At the peak of the storm – just after 5am – a top gust of 101mph was measured at the Airport and exceptionally rare sustained hurricane-force-12 winds were recorded at the Harbour.
During a night of extreme weather:
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Several homes around the FB Fields in St Clement were badly damaged as a tornado swept through the area around midnight during a freak thunderstorm which pelted the Island with golf-ball-sized hail.
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One resident revealed how her car was tossed into a garden as the twister demolished her garage and tore down huge trees.
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Gloucester Street was closed after part of the Hospital roof was damaged.
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The padel tennis courts in St Clement were destroyed.
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A large area of cladding on the Grand Hotel was ripped away.
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And Rue des Prés trading estate suffered extensive damage.
Many Islanders were kept awake during the night as Ciarán brought down hundreds of trees, lashed the Island with torrential rain which caused flash flooding – and generated a one-metre storm surge which sent waves crashing over sea walls.
A major incident was declared at midnight and a command centre was set up to co-ordinate the escalating weather event, which appears to have been as destructive as the Great Storm of 1987.
Almost four times the usual number of police officers – as well as additional paramedics, firefighters and honorary officers – were on duty to deal with the dozens of emergency calls.
By 6.15am yesterday, there had been 107 ‘999’ calls and 270 calls to a non-emergency number set up especially for Storm Ciarán inquiries. Police chief Robin Smith said that more than 1,000 calls came in across the various helpline and emergency numbers throughout the night.
Mr Smith praised everyone involved in the emergency response, as well as Jersey Met for providing data that gave the Island time to prepare for the storm.
A total of 36 households were displaced, comprising 91 adults, 33 children and nine pets.
“We are still in what we call the response phase,” said Mr Smith. We have dozens of police officers, fire officers, ambulance staff as well as colleagues from government [involved] – particularly Infrastructure and Environment. We are looking to make buildings safe where appropriate and removing the trees that have covered a lot of our roads.”
As dawn broke, the full extent of the devastation was revealed, with dozens of roads blocked by fallen trees – including every road in and out of St Mary – sheds destroyed, fences torn down and cars buried under demolished walls.
Describing the moment the tornado hit, St Clement resident Ashleigh Quail-Charleston told how at 11.30pm he was faced with “bright lightning”, “really loud thunder” and wind “like there was a vacuum”. He added: “Suddenly, the lounge windows exploded in and dragged everything inside.”
Another parishioner, Kerry Leadbetter, described how the “most frightening sensation came over the whole house” as the twister touched down, blowing down fences, toppling brick walls and sending debris flying.
“At first there was lightning, but then a strange noise and strange darkness came over the whole house,” she said.
“The dogs were so frightened.
“It wasn’t the high winds later [that caused the most damage]: it was the tornado earlier on.
“Brick walls have gone down, and we’ve lost four huge, established trees – three of which went off in the tornado.”
**FRIDAY’S JEP: A SPECIAL STORM CIARAN EDITION FEATURING 11 PAGES OF REPORTS AND 20 PAGES OF PICTURES**
