Wind gusts batter Britain’s west coast

LONDON: Britain’s west coast is being battered by wind gusts that could reach 100 mph (160 kph) as a new storm pummels the flood-stricken country.
The Meteorological Office has issued a highest-level red warning of “exceptionally strong winds” for west Wales and northwest England.
It says gusts of between 80 and 100 mph could cause widespread structural damage and loss of power.
England had its wettest January since records were first kept almost 250 years ago, and the country has been lashed by wind and rain since December.
Resulting floods have drenched the southwestern coast of England, the low-lying Somerset Levels and the Thames Valley, west of London, where hundreds of properties have been swamped as the river burst its banks this week.
More soldiers were drafted in to rescue residents and lay sandbags in deluged villages where primary schools have been transformed into makeshift emergency centers.