Storm damage in Durham horrific

St. Jude was killed by the axe with which he is represented

The biggest storm Blighty has seen in almost three decades has hit the country today, killing at least two people and bringing with it gusts of 80 mph and up to 40mm of rain in just six hours.

Damage wrought in Hounslow, London

It has been compared to the ‘Great Storm’ of 1987, which killed 18 people and felled around 15 million trees.

What’s in it for Durham, then? Is now the time to panic-buy baked beans and congregate in the least damp-infested house in the Viaduct?

Damage in Durham has been horrific

St Jude, the storm’s namesake, has his feasting day today. He also happens to be the patron saint of “lost causes and desperate cases”. How prepared are students for the storm? What will St Jude inflict on Durham’s desperate cases?

The Tab investigated and found:

• one geology student who, when asked her thoughts, shouted simply “HIDE IN YOUR BASEMENTS!” (They are quite odd.)
• a Mary’s engineer who described how he had “studied the trees-to-houses spacing in the vicinity of the viaduct using a mechanics module from last year”, concluding “I think we’ll be alright”.
• On Facebook, an event entailing a refuge point and meeting time, with instruction to bring “at least one paraffin lamp between two”.

Maybe Durham students were already a lost cause!