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Reports of a tornado hitting Jersey have yet to be verified but what is clear is that the island has suffered the worst of the damage out of all of the Channel Islands from Storm Ciaran.
With trees down, and properties damaged across the Bailiwick of Guernsey, the situation in Jersey is appearing far more extreme.
Matt Winter, Senior Forecaster with Jersey Met said this morning that: “A tornado is very likely to have happened, from the damage we can see and when it happened in association with a severe thunderstorm. We are looking to confirm that.”
A tornado has touched down in Jersey, Channel Islands with damage being reported. pic.twitter.com/8UkVrcq6gT
— Nahel Belgherze (@WxNB_) November 2, 2023
By 06:00 this morning, three people were in hospital, and 40 people had been evacuated from their homes as 102mph winds battered the most southerly part of the British Isles.
Stay at home advice remains in place across the islands today with Guernsey Police saying that there were "far more vehicles on the roads than we'd like to (see) from a public safety perspective" at around 08:00.
States of Jersey Police were also urging everyone there to stay inside while people across Jersey took to social media to share videos highlighting the devastation some had woken up to.
Scenes of devastation across Jersey now visible in the daylight #StormCiaran pic.twitter.com/w56wMZqlpz
— Consumer Carl (@CarlWalker7) November 2, 2023
A multi-agency Situation Room at the States of Jersey Police Headquarters set up yesterday to help co-ordinate the island's response had received 107 '999' calls by 06:15 this morning, along with 270 non-emergency calls.
A States of Jersey spokesperson said earlier this morning:
"In what is an ongoing situation, emergency services and staff from Infrastructure and Environment have been working through the night to answer hundreds of calls from Islanders, with the vast majority related to storm damage.
Winds have reached a top speed of 102mph in the last half an hour and swells of up to 9m are expected in St Ouen's Bay in the next hour. Please stay inside. It is very dangerous out there.
— States of Jersey Police (@JerseyPolice) November 2, 2023
"While affected Islanders have been moved to hotels and parish halls which opened in the early hours to act as temporary shelters for displaced residents, attention is now turned to this morning’s High Tide which is expected to be 11.5m at 08:40 and, with the ongoing high winds, could be higher.
"Among the worst-hit areas last night were FB Fields and parts of St Clement while Gloucester Street was closed just after 05:30 when parts of the hospital’s Paediatric Block roof became unstable."
The advice to people in Jersey at 10:00 remains to "stay at home and to only travel if it is essential or if they are essential workers".
For information and advice relevant to the Bailiwick of Guernsey follow our live feed HERE.
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