Thursday, December 07, 2006

Oh My God - We're Really Not in Kansas Anymore

And they don't even have trailer parks. A tornado hit London, England today, tearing roofs off houses and bringing down walls in the City's northwest region. Six people were injured.

Britain does get tornadoes, if you can call them that. They're usually very weak and cause no damage. That made this one very different.

Reuters reports 100-homes were damaged:

"The cost in London could run into millions of pounds. Houses in the area cost an average 550,000 pounds, a local estate agent said. The Association of British Insurers said most home insurance policies would cover the costs.

"You're not likely to find the word 'tornado' in a UK insurance policy," a spokesman said. "But it would be covered under 'storm damage'."

"Tornadoes are a vortex of swirling air caused by a build-up of heavy thunder clouds. The Met Office spokesman said it was impossible to tell if global warming had a role to play in the London tornado.

"The Met Office issued severe weather warnings for southern England, with heavy rains and winds gusting up to 70 miles per hour, after the warmest autumn in the last 347 years."

No comments: