As Storm Eunice batters the country, thoughts turn to the 'Great Storm' of 1987, which devastated parts of Oxfordshire and much of southern England.

The storm caused an estimated £1 billion in damages as electricity supplies were cut off, trees were blown down, and parks, roads and schools were closed by winds up to 110mph on the night of 15-16 October, killing 18 people.

Read again: Live updates: Storm Eunice across Oxfordshire

The ferocious gales of 1987 hit Oxfordshire, and affected Didcot the worst.

Witney Gazette:

A roof was blown off a static home in Foxhall Manor Park.

In other parts, a six-foot high wall collapsed across a public footpath between Sandringham Road and Balmoral Road.

A large tree toppled over by the gales landed right outside Bishop’s Wood, Cuddesdon.

Two dozen major roads and many minor roads were closed off because of fallen trees across the Thames Valley.

Iffley Road was partially blocked by a fallen tree and sheets of tarpaulin were blown across the bypass.

Read again: 1980s photos show Great Storm of 1987

Five high voltage electricity lines were hit, affecting 1,500 residents from small villages and farms in the county.

Tony Hadland, 68, remembered the scenes he saw on his way to work.

He said: "I was living in Peppard Common, South Oxfordshire, and commuting by train from Reading to Old Bailey in the City of London.

"Our house suffered some relatively minor damage, principally to the roof of a covered space adjoining the house.

"Lots of people had slates and tiles blown off their roofs and TV aerials damaged. And electricity and telephone cables were brought down in many places.

"I managed to get into work on the morning after without too much difficulty. What was surprising was how big trees had been blown over.

"In the woods and forests out of town, so many trees were blown down."

Read again: Emergency school closures amid Storm Eunice

After Michael Fish, a TV weatherman, became infamous for scoffing at the idea of a hurricane coming to the UK at the time, it was a wake-up call for the Met Office.

It led scientists at the Office to consider how a storm of that nature could have been missed by the forecaster today.

Meteorologist Alex Deakin said in 2017: "(The storm) helped identify gaps in severe weather forecasting capability and highlighted the need for better communication with partner organisations such as emergency services.

Witney Gazette:

"We can’t say we won’t see another storm like the one in 1987, but we are able to better forecast and warn of severe weather, helping to minimise the impacts by working with our partners and emergency responders, and the general public."

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