LONDON — Millions of people have been told to stay at home as one of the worst storms in decades, Storm Eunice, hits the UK.

The Met Office has issued a second rare red weather warning to cover London, the southeast and east of England.

A red warning - meaning there is a danger to life from flying debris - is already set to cover parts of southwest England and south Wales.

Hundreds of schools will be closed, all trains in Wales are suspended and the Army is on standby.

Forecasters warn Eunice could bring wind gusts of up to 90mph on Friday, causing significant disruption and power cuts.

BBC Weather said it "could well be one of the worst storms in three decades".

Eunice is the second storm in a week for the UK after Storm Dudley battered parts of Scotland, northern England and Northern Ireland, leaving thousands of homes without power.

Red weather warnings are rare, and mean that roofs could be blown off, power lines brought down and trees uprooted - as well as flying debris which could cause a danger to life.

The last red warning was for Storm Arwen in November last year, but before that one had not been issued since the so-called "Beast from the East" in 2018.

BBC Weather meteorologist Ben Rich said he expects Eunice to "cause damage, huge disruption and coastal flooding" - but he said it was "impossible to know exactly how bad this storm is going to be".

"Winds of the same strengths will cause different impacts in different regions of the UK - for example, coasts of western Scotland are far better prepared for 80mph winds than inland parts of southern England."

BBC Wales weatherman Derek Brockway said although Eunice was not a hurricane, winds will reach hurricane force level.

People have been warned to "tie down" objects in their gardens, fasten doors and windows and keep cars locked in garages if possible away from trees and walls.

And the Met Office said people should avoid travelling if they can and stay at home when winds reach the highest speeds.

Hundreds of schools are staying shut on Friday due to the high winds - including in Cornwall, Devon, Somerset and Bristol.

Almost all Welsh councils have said their schools would close on Friday and some university campuses in Wales are also expected to close.

There are concerns that Storm Eunice's strong winds and a possible storm surge could combine with high spring tides to bring coastal flooding to the west, south-west and the south coast of England.

Ten severe flood warnings - meaning there is a danger to life - are in place on the Severn Estuary and the Wye Estuary. Less serious flood warnings and alerts have been issued for other parts of England, Scotland and Wales.

River flooding in the Pennines, North Yorkshire and Lancashire is expected during the weekend. The water level in rivers, lakes and streams is likely to rise and overflow due to a combination of after-effects of Storm Dudley and snow melting.

A government source told the BBC they were "well-prepared" with more than 250 high-volume pumps and 6,000 trained staff able to be deployed, adding they were not taking the threat posed by Eunice "lightly".

Major incidents have been declared in Cornwall, Gloucestershire, Avon and Somerset and Hampshire.

In Cornwall and Somerset, residents are being urged to stay at home and only travel on Friday if "absolutely necessary".

Both councils advised people to stay back from cliffs and seafronts due to the danger of large waves, with Cornwall warning of possible flooding during the high spring tides at about 06:00.

Council and emergency services staff in Gloucestershire and Avon and Somerset were due to knock on doors on Thursday afternoon to ensure people who need to evacuate from possible floods along the Severn Estuary can do so safely.

The government held an emergency Cobra meeting on Thursday to discuss the response to the incoming storm.

Prime Minister Mr Johnson said the Army was "on standby" to support those affected.

The storm is also expected to bring widespread travel disruption.

All train services in Wales have been suspended on Friday, while rail companies are urging other customers not to travel, with blanket speed restrictions set to be imposed on the main rail lines across the country.

Several train companies and airlines have warned their passengers that there will be disruptions to their journeys due to the storm. Some travel companies have urged their passengers to amend their bookings if possible.

Great Western Railway said it expected to cut half of its services on Friday and some branch lines in Devon and Cornwall will also close.

West Midlands Railway has also issued a "do not travel" warning for Friday and says there will be a "significantly reduced" service, while London North East Railway urged customers with tickets for Friday to travel on Saturday instead or get a refund.

Avanti West Coast said in a tweet: "If you have a ticket to travel with us today (18th) we strongly recommend not travelling due to Storm Eunice."

For air travel, British Airways said on Twitter that "Storm Eunice has caused significant disruption to our flights today" while airports urged customers to check flights.

National Highways - which is in charge of England's motorways and major A-roads - has said there is a "particularly high risk" that high-sided vehicles, caravans and motorbikes could be blown over and has urged drivers of those vehicles have been urged not to travel on bridges and viaducts.

Several bridges have closed on Friday, including the M48 Severn Bridge, the A14 Orwell Bridge in Suffolk and the QEII Bridge in Dartford. The M4 Prince of Wales Bridge is expected to close at 06:00.

RAC Breakdown spokesperson Rod Dennis said: "People who can work from home tomorrow should definitely do so, and we also urge people not to be tempted to drive to the coast to take photos of the extreme conditions."

A number of attractions including the London Eye, Legoland and Warwick Castle are also temporarily closing - as well as parks and open spaces including the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew and Wakehurst, West Sussex.

Many people were just recovering from Storm Dudley on Wednesday as they braced for Eunice.

Dudley left thousands of people in north-east England, Cumbria, North Yorkshire and Lancashire without power. Northern Powergrid said it had restored power to all of its more than 20,000 customers affected by the storm by Thursday evening. — BBC