One of the highest profile victims of Storm Eunice was the roof of the Millennium Dome, part of which failed to stand up to the gusty blast. Six of the panels ripped and tore, some flapping away across the Thames, leaving a large vertical gash on the northwestern flank. It's plainlyvisible from the river and from Blackwall on the opposite bank, but fortunately can't be seen from the main entrance because the hole is round the back. The affected section houses the outlet mall and leaves shoppers partly open to the elements, should there be any, whilst leaving the hospitality and entertainment sectors unaffected. It's a sorry sight.
The roof of the Dome is made of teflon-coated glass fibre and is just one millimetre thick. It was originally going to be flimsier PVC but the incoming Labour government decided the building needed a longer legacy, a change which delayed installation by three months. Altogether there are 144 linear panels, 72 of them in a ring around the base and another 72 above which converge at the top of the dome. All those that failed are from the lower half, which means they're 75m long and weigh a tonne. Construction required cranes and a team of abseilers and was halted if wind speeds ever went above 35mph. Alas Eunice's worst gusts were double that and so a structure that'd stood firm since June 1998 finally gave way.
When you see the damage in situ it's very apparent that the failed section is immediately alongside the only other nearby tall building, a 24 storey apartment block & hotel combo. This was completed in 2016 and created a deep notch which, unfortunately for the Dome, appears to have perfectly aligned with the direction of Eunice's southwesterly winds. I imagine a model in a wind tunnel would have demonstrated the potential risk in advance but the hotel wasn't there when the Dome was built so instead we've had to wait for the full-scale experiment. Prolonged gusty turbulence must have weakened first one panel and then its neighbours, with one of the 12 tall yellow masts providing the only significant resistance.
It's bad news for fans of Simply Red whose performance this evening has been postponed, and also for any families hoping to dine out in a chain restaurant because the entire O2 is closed for the day. It's not clear when it'll reopen, with reports in the media that employees have been told the venue may have to close "for a few months". However it remains possible to book a seat in the cinema tomorrow or to buy a £37 ticket to walk across the roof on Wednesday so the newspapers' bluster may have been an exaggeration. Indeed the gash may look bad but only one-twelfth of the Dome's circumference is affected so I suspect most activities will be able to continue unaffected.
Another of Storm Eunice's millennial casualties was thebandstand at the De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill. Thisgorgeousstructure first appeared on the seafront terrace in 2001 to provide an outdoor performance focus, and resembled a whale's tail, a nun's wimple or a giant pair of white lips depending on your artistic interpretation. But in storm force winds it snapped and smashed beyond repair and now looks more like a broken seashell. Within hours the DLWP published what amounts to an In Memoriam post, an upbeat invitation for past visitors to share memories and remember the good times because it's not coming back. Neither the bandstand nor the Millennium Dome were built the last time winds of this strength hit southeast England, and sadly neither passed their sternest test unscathed.
