A state of alert is in place for authorities and residents in large areas of Britain due to severe weather Eowyn with nearly 4.5 million people receiving a message Thursday night to take protective measures and risk their lives.

The bad weather has already “landed” on the west coast of Ireland with winds of 135km/h, a record in the country’s meteorological history.

Already hundreds of flights have been cancelled at Glasgow, Edinburgh and Dublin airports. In Dublin, 220 landings and take-offs have been cancelled as of 3am and “further cancellations and delays are expected.”

There are also problems on rail services with ScotRail having suspended all services for today while National Rail has warned of problems on LNER, London Northwestern Railway/West Midlands Railway, Northern, South Western Railway, Southern, TransPennine Express.

Meanwhile, all school closures have been announced in Northern Ireland, central and southern Scotland while several universities are also closed.

The alert by the authorities has caused great concern among residents in the affected areas as empty shelves have already been recorded in supermarkets as many have rushed to stock up on supplies ahead of the severe weather.