High winds and huge waves didn’t seem to stop a pair of young men in Galway, Ireland from showboating their swimming skills as a major storm flooded cities, swept out power and killed at least one person in the U.K.
Coast guards in Ireland and the U.K. have repeatedly warned residents to stay away from the sea or any source of moving water. Not everyone appears to have heeded the advice.
Galway resident Cathal Devlin posted a video that shows two young men throwing themselves off of what appears to be the Blackrock Diving Tower in Salthill.
The stunt has already received more than a million views on Facebook, though Devlin decried the antics as “absolute madness and stupidity,” noting that “the voluntary and rescue services are kept busy enough without having to worry about this type of stupid behaviour.”
The video, uploaded to Facebook on Friday, garnered more than 300 comments with many people calling the divers “eejits” or speculating whether the pair were stunt men.
Though the two daredevils appear to escaped injury, the major storm created chaos across the region. According to RTÉ News, a 15-year-old girl is in a critical condition after four members of her scout group were pulled into the ocean by a freak wave on the coast of Hook Head, Ireland.
Police in London, England say a 90-year-old man died after he was believed to have been blown into the side of a moving bus by a gust of wind. On Monday, a body was also pulled from the Kent River in Cumbria, a region hit hard by the storm that picked up speed over the weekend.
Known for its scenic Lake District National Park, the country’s Environment Agency told The Guardian that the weather station at Honister recorded 341mm of rain – more than a month’s worth in just one day and a U.K. record.
The deluge left the Cumbrian city of Carlisle and hundreds of homes submerged. Many rivers burst their banks and in some streets, cars have been left almost entirely underwater. Rescue teams helped ferry those forced to leave their homes in boats.
About 60,000 homes in northern regions were left without power and electricity.
Britain’s army was called in to help put down sandbags and evacuated people from their homes Sunday in the country’s northern towns and cities. Forecasters are warning of more heavy rain on Monday in Scotland, northwestern England and Wales, leading to further flooding and disruption.
