Gunwharf Quays employees evacuate all stores following ‘Storm Eunice’ surge
A popular outlet centre in Portsmouth was forced to close on Friday afternoon while Storm Eunice tore through the island city.
Sales Associate, Kinga, who takes the ferry from Gosport, recalls feeling unsafe on her way to work, when strong winds reached as high as 70mph.
Kinga, 19, said: “When I stepped off the ferry and walked through the tunnel to get by the dockyard, the winds were strong, that’s where I didn’t feel safe. Then, about five minutes into my shift, one of the health and safety team members came in and said that we needed to evacuate the store.”
She added: “I would’ve thought that they saw this coming as it’s been on the news, they could have prevented people from travelling in dangerous conditions.”
The Met Office issued a red weather warning overnight which came into force from 10am until 3pm, alerting residents of Hampshire that Storm Eunice may cause property damage, disruption to travel and a possible ‘danger to life’.
Restaurant employee, Laura, 28, from Southsea, who also works at Gunwharf Quays, stated: “In my 10 years of working, I only remember two cases where the entire shopping centre had to close abruptly, a power cut about four years ago and a fire at the Water Margin Chinese restaurant.”
Local residents shared pictures and videos using #StormEunice and #Portsmouth to inform people what was happening in the area, as waves flooded the land.
The outlet centre tweeted: “We have reopened this evening for our leisure/ food & beverage operators only.”
Further updates on the reopening of stores can be found on the Gunwharf Website.
