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Wales Online
Wales Online
National
Phil Norris

O2 Arena damaged as Storm Eunice rips into London

The Millennium Dome is being damaged by Storm Eunice as severe winds batter London.

Witness Mala Sharma told the PA news agency that “more and more parts are getting ripped off”, adding, “it’s going to be a safety issue for people around”.

She said that it happened “right in front of my eyes” and that the damage “started off with a patch” but then a “chunk” of the dome roof ripped off.

A video posted on twitter, which you can see below, shows parts of the dome in Greenwich coming off.

The dome was opened on New Year's Eve 1999 as part of the UK's millennium celebrations and is now part of The O2 arena.

This is a developing story and we'll bring you more updates soon.

Millions of people have been urged to stay at home for the day due to safety fears over the impact of Eunice, one of the worst storms to hit the UK in a generation.

Tens of thousands of homes have been left without power, while flights, trains and ferry services have been suspended, and roads, schools and businesses have shut as potentially record-breaking gusts of more than 120mph have been recorded in the most exposed areas.

Damage to the roof of the O2 Arena (PA)

Even though the first of the Met Office’s two ultra rare “red” weather warnings expired at midday affecting the south west of England and south Wales, a second remains in place until 3pm across the East of England and London due to the combination of high tides, strong winds and storm surge.

But attention is already turning to the impact beyond Friday afternoon, with further disruption to travel and more weather warnings issued for Saturday.

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