Malaysians in United Kingdom safe from St Jude storm

People watch the waves batter into the sea wall of a marina in Brighton, south England, Oct. 28, 2013.

LONDON: About 1,000 Malaysian students living in areas affected by St Jude storm which swept across South West England and Wales are safe.

Malaysian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom Datuk Seri Zakaria Sulong said extensive damage was reported in the areas, especially Cardiff, Swansea and Bristol.

"So far, there has been no report of casualties or damages involving our students or Malaysians living in these areas," he told reporters.

There are 488 Malaysian students in Cardiff, 234 in Bristol and the rest in Swansea.

Zakaria said about 70,000 Malaysians are living in the United Kingdom, including 14,500 students.

"The prime minister (Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak) is quite disappointed at not being able to go to Manchester to visit the Malaysian community there. He will try to go to Manchester in the future," he said.

Earlier, Najib, who was scheduled to start his first day of working visit to Manchester, was held back by the storm.

He was supposed to take the government aircraft from Luton to Manchester to attend the 1Malaysia for Youth (iM4U) meeting with local communities residing in Manchester.

Severe gale-force winds have prompted travel warnings issued by the authorities and transport companies, advising travellers to check schedules of trains and flights regularly.

The storm, known as St Jude and the worst in a decade, is reportedly bringing the wind at speeds of over 100 miles per hour and is currently heading towards Denmark and Germany.

Despite the cancellation, Najib will still attend the reception hosted by the City of London Corporation later today, at the Old Library Guidhall, Gresham Street, in conjunction with the 9th World Islamic Economic Forum from Oct 29 to 31.

Najib, who arrived in London early Sunday morning from Kuala Lumpur, is currently here for a working visit to the UK from Oct 27 to Oct 31. - Bernama