Storm Darragh caused chaos across the UK, with winds of 96mph killing one person and leaving hundreds of thousands without power.

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Storm Darragh caused major damage across the UK on Saturday. One person died, flights and trains were canceled and hundreds of thousands of homes were without power.

The fourth named storm of the season, winds of up to 96mph lashed the country, causing havoc particularly in south Wales and western England, with more damage expected on Sunday.

A Met Office red alert for parts of Wales and south-west England came into effect at 1am on Saturday, with strong winds prompting the government to issue a life-threatening warning for three million people. It was the largest use of the system ever, with people urged to avoid driving and stay indoors if possible.

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Workers cut down a fallen tree blocking the M1 road into Belfast after it fell during the storm (Getty)

British Airways has canceled more than 100 short-haul domestic and European flights from London Heathrow, including several flights to Paris, Edinburgh, Jersey, Milan, Nice and Vienna, and transatlantic flights from the US have been diverted to Brussels. .

On Saturday evening police in Dyfed-Powys, Wales, declared a major incident after receiving a huge number of calls about fallen trees and poor driving conditions. The storm also affected other parts of the country. At Longton, near Preston, a man in his 40s died after a tree fell on his van on the A59 dual carriageway in Lancashire.

For live updates on Storm Darragh, click here to visit our blog.

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A surfer rides the waves at Porthcall, south Wales (AFP via Getty)

A dog walker who was first on the scene told The Independent how he tried to push the tree out of his van. Terry Tinker said: I had a peg leg and a cane, so I couldn't help much. It was terrible. The victim's next of kin have been informed and are being assisted by specially trained officers.

Sporting events, including the Aldershot Race, were canceled and the much-anticipated final league derby between Everton and Liverpool at Goodison Park was postponed due to strong winds and heavy rain. London's Winter Wonderland was one of the Christmas-themed attractions closed, as all Royal Parks were closed, including cafes, kiosks, parkways and cycle paths.

Hundreds of thousands of people in Northern Ireland, England and Wales were without power.

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Storm Darragh battered parts of the UK with the strongest wind gusts recorded at 96mph (PA).

The Energy Networks Association said 177,000 homes were damaged in England, Scotland and Wales. About 768,000 customers were reconnected on Saturday and more than 1,000 engineers were ready to be deployed, a spokeswoman said. A further 395,000 homes were without power in Ireland, the first to be hit by the storm.

The Cabinet Office Emergency Alert System sent a message to all compatible mobile phones in the affected area containing information about the red alert and guidance on how to stay safe. Even though the phone was set to silent, it made a loud sound like a siren, and the sound and vibration lasted for about 10 seconds, but some people said they did not receive it.

Ahead of the heavy rain, the Met Office said heavy rain was likely to fall across south and central Wales from Saturday, with 20 to 30 mm of rain likely to fall within three to six hours. A total of 80 to 90 mm of rain is likely to fall by the evening, with rain expected to last for about two weeks. The Met Office said 55mm of rain had fallen in parts of Cumbria since Friday afternoon, while 44mm had fallen in south Wales. As of Saturday evening, the Environment Agency had issued 144 flood warnings and 28 flood warnings across the country.

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Airport transfer bus veers off road and crashes into house in Northern Ireland (Getty)

National Rail said the storm was likely to affect its entire network services over the weekend and warned people to check their full journey before traveling as conditions could lead to the cancellation of the last service of the day.

Britons were already counting the cost of damage from Darragh, with additional storm warnings issued across England, including London and the south-east, on Sunday. Strong winds swept through Llandudno Docks in North Wales, damaged roofs of businesses along the Bristol Channel and toppled trees in residential areas in Wales.

Llandudno Pier general manager Paul Williams said repairs could cost $250,000. He said: One of the original kiosks, which was approximately 148 years old, was torn apart overnight.

He continued that this was the first time in history that it was tilted to one side. The ice cream stand at the end of the pier was torn and flowed into the sea, with thousands of pieces floating on the other side of the bay. There are real fears the roof is falling off the toilets and they could end up losing the bar and cafe as well.

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The storm brought down trees in places including Rectory Road, Burnham-on-Sea (EPA).

Professor Andrew Charlton-Perez, a meteorologist and head of the Department of Mathematical Physics and Computational Sciences at the University of Reading, praised British forecasters for preventing more deaths. He said: Storm Darragh appears to have been well predicted and, combined with clearly communicated warnings, has given the public the information they need to make the right decisions to avoid harm.

This storm is a reminder that the UK is fortunate to have one of the most effective public weather services in the world. This will accelerate our efforts to develop early warning for everyone and deliver on the UN's commitment to provide similar life-saving warnings to people anywhere in the world, whether in Lilongwe or Llandudno.

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A yellow weather warning for winds has been issued across England on Sunday (Method Office)

The Met Office has issued the most severe type of red weather warning for winds on Friday. This means hazardous weather is expected and people are urged to take action to keep themselves and others safe. The warning, which has now expired, was in effect from 3 a.m. to 11 a.m. Saturday.

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