are blocking the roads. people there have told the bbc there are still very strong winds in the area. let's get more from graham satchell. storm ciaran hit the channel islands with a bang, thunder and lightning and massive hailstones. the power of the storm, remarkable. winds reached more than 100 miles an hour, ripping rooves from buildings. this terrifying moment was caught on a baby monitor. the woman grabs her baby and makes her escape. the emergency services injersey said they responded to hundreds of calls overnight. they worked through horrendous conditions to clear roads and rescue people. there's been a lot of structural damage, a lot of roofs and chimneys down, trees down obviously, a lot of roads are blocked, there is a lot of debris on the roads. at first light, people ventured out to assess the damage. there are trees down all over the island. some buildings have been almost completely destroyed. the power of the wind has blown walls down. that was my car, evie's car, big, big tree. in some places it is a scene of utter devastation. charlie's car was parked here and it's moved over there. with the extensive damage to buildings and properties, more than a0 islanders have been evacuated to local hotels. terry and angela had a lucky escape after their chimney came through their roof and fell on them in bed. i thought it was a lot of lightning, then the next thing, everything came down on top of me. so, i suppose i was lucky because i did manage to pull my legs out. and she wasjelly, that's what my wife was like. i was shaking. jersey is still being battered. all flights and ferries have been cancelled, schools are closed. not since the great storm of 1987 have the channel islands seen something as bad as this. graham satchell, bbc news. 0ur correspondent dan johnson is also injersey and has sent this update. this is the destruction that was caused by the high winds that hit around midnight last night. people say it sounded like a tornado blowing through here. you can see the tree down and even more damage to the cars. if you look at the house, just look at the windows that are smashed through. this is why people had to evacuate last night. they are now moving out what they can, salvaging what they can and considering what to do next. they are homeless, at least temporarily, and there will be a huge clear upjob to do here and a lot of repair work needed. it is notjust this street, there are a couple of streets where so many houses have been affected. we know that about a0 people acrossjersey had to be relocated during the night, either to hotels or to community centres, where they were staying. this is one of the properties that has been badly damaged on the corner. what was is like last night? it was like the airjust sucked in and it blew out the windows, the roof went, it felt like the roof actually lifted and dropped. how frightening was it? a bit scary, i was shaken up. it was only when we come out, we realised the windows had gone. then this morning, we have come out and saw the devastation. what will you do next? the housing have turned up now so hopefully they will get things sorted out for us. sorry to interrupt, all the best. lots for people to consider, people assessing what damage there is, what they have lost in terms of their property and their car, people checking on family members, making sure others are safe and reallyjust trying to assess how much damage there is and what they can do next. having hitjersey, storm ciaran has continued its path along the south coast of england. major incidents have been declared on the isle of wight and hampshire with many schools closed for the day. some train services have been disrupted and drivers have been told to avoid coastal roads. jenny kumar reports from the cornish seaside town of bude. dramatic scenes from st ives on the north coast of cornwall to teignmouth on the south coast of devon. no one escaped a pounding from the huge waves and strong winds of storm ciaran. the peak of the winds was forecast for before dawn but as the morning has continued, the strong winds have and there have been reports of gusts of up to 95 mph here on the north cornwall coast. that combined with heavy rain has caused widespread disruption. around 200 trees fell down here in cornwall. thousands of properties were left without power. high winds in the south—east blew the front window out of this bus near folkestone in kent. most transport has been disrupted everywhere. here in dover, all crossings have been cancelled. and for the person staying in this caravan in kent, a lucky escape. this tree crashed through the roof moments after he had woken up. but there has been no escape from flooding for some. at this hotel in south devon, guests had a different breakfast experience when water came gushing in. it has been a bit of a shock, we walked down the stairs this morning to find the reception was awash with sea water. massive wave, long story short, hit the doors, smashed them open and they completely came off their hinges. people have been asked to stay away from coastal areas. as winds began to ease here in the cornish coastal town of bude, people have beginning to come out. for these holiday—makers it was not quite the winter break they had envisaged. harsh, very harsh, certainly wakes you up. quite shocked to find it as stormy as this but we are out and about, there you go. it's really fun, we like it, don't we? the amber warning for wind has been downgraded for this afternoon. having made its mark, storm ciaran is due to ease but heavy rain will continue which could make the job of clearing up challenging. jenny kumar, bbc news. earlier i wasjoined by karen marshall, who lives in saint peter port, guernsey. i am in an attic flat and the noise was mainly when i woke up in the early morning, it was horrendous, so loud outside with things actually hitting my windows as well. i had my radio on and i still could not hear the radio. i have had a lucky escape, there is an old tree outside and luckily, only a huge branch came off. itjust missed the car in the house. had it been the whole tree, which i was watching wobbling for quite a while and was rather worried, it would deftly have put a hole in the will of the house. sounds terrifying, a lucky escape for you. how does this compare to whether you have seen in your time in guernsey? is this the most dramatic storm you can remember in years? it is. we do have a lot of storms, i must admit, but this one was pretty much the storm of all storms and i have not experienced anything quite as dramatic, quite as windy and really quite as scary for many, many years. viewers have just been seeing the image of the fallen tree and it really is, it could have been so much worse. what is the situation now because in terms of the clear up, that is obviously quite a big operation, and in terms of the weather conditions where you are, how much has it calmed down? it has calmed down considerably now. if i look at the window, the trees are only waving a little bit and as far as the carob goes, there have been quite a few trees around the island but i think is an efficient group of tree surgeons who must be doing the rounds because within about two hours this morning at about 10:00, they were here, the trees are chopped up and ready to go on to somebody�*s wood burner. very organised! i was speaking earlier to someone from thejersey met who was talking about how well forecast this was. did you feel as if you had enough of a warning and enough preparation before the storm hit? yes, what we are good at here is actually forecasting storms and we have a lot of them, and coping with them. so there was no problem with that, we all knew what was coming and we were able to go shopping. the shelves are a little bear, i must admit, but we were all able to do our last—minute shopping to mixture we had enough food. to wales next because heavy rain has caused flooding there. this is in pembrokeshire where residents of the kiln park caravan site have been evacuated due to flooding. 0ne family who were staying at the park have told the bbc they got a knock at the door in the early hours of the morning — saying they had to leave. 0ur reporter duncan kennedy is in hastings in southern england where he says the wind has started picking up again in recent hours. the camera i am talking to you on troubled over a second ago in the gust of wind, such as it is. we think that makes it about 50 to 55 miles an hour, the winds whipping in through here. you might be able to get a sense of it, the sea stayed behind me. really, that is typical of what has gone on here right across hampshire, sussex and into kent, these wild winds that we have been having as the storm has moved across. bringing all kinds of issues and all kinds of problems to transport, people trying to get to school and such like. we have had cancellations on various train services, varies have been cancelled but one piece of good news we have heard in the past hour or so is that some kind of services will be operating out of dover in the next few hours. we understand that it will be freight services first with passenger services coming a bit later on the advice on that is for passengers to check before turning up passengers to check before turning up at dover, otherwise you might have a very long wait indeed. but the storm is very much still with us, even if we are in the tail end of it, it is still passing through with quite a bite on its tail here. you can see that quite clearly from your background, the waves do look very rough and you can hear the wind. what is the advice for what is to come next for people, either further weather warnings in place, any idea of how much longer it will go on for? any idea of how much longer it will no on for? �* ., any idea of how much longer it will . on for? �* ., ., , go on for? although the amber warnin: go on for? although the amber warning has — go on for? although the amber warning has been _ go on for? although the amber warning has been downgraded, go on for? although the amber - warning has been downgraded, doesn't mean the storm is over. it is a very big storm, a very wide storm and it has got to pass through. i think thatis has got to pass through. i think that is what we are seeing here in the east sussex area, in the kent area, as the storm does pass through. it was not quite as far north as the expected. it was further south than the expected so the footprint of it, if you like, is not quite as widespread as they were expecting. where it is touching [and here, it is packing this wallop and thatis here, it is packing this wallop and that is causing all these problems. we came across here from southampton and we saw cars in ditches, there was localised flooding and we know here in the hastings area, there have been branches down on railway lines so there is a lot to pack in here. we have not heard of any kind of casualties or anything like that. that may come through, if anything has happened, in the next few hours or so. what we have also heard is that although this is passing through, this particular storm, there is a yellow warning coming for there is a yellow warning coming for the weekend because there is another weather system coming and that will mean if it brings more rain, yet more localised flooding. we have had localised flooding in the new forest area, in hampshire and isle of wight area, in hampshire and isle of wight area in the past 2a hours or so and that means the ground, which was already saturated, will get even more covered in water and that could bring more problems. we will continute to bring you all the latest about the storm ciaran and its cosequences. you can check the weather conditions where you are today by going to the website. the bank of england has kept interest rates on hold at 5.25% for the second time as it waits to see if the rate rises of the previous two years are having enough of the desired effect on curbing inflation. 0ur chief economics correspondent dharshini david reports. the rates may not have changed today, but the hikes over the last couple of years are being felt across the building bricks of the economy. sales of new—build homes are suffering, shaking the foundations of prosperity. there is a correction happening and there is definitely a marked slowdown at the moment within the industry without a doubt. the industry is a bellwether because once you have bought your house and the people moved in, they buy carpets, they buy food from the local shops, they buy petrol, they drive here, it drives the local economy. and the structure of future house—building plans could also be shaken as the industry reacts to its higher borrowing costs and weaker demand. unless confidence returns, developers will not borrow money from the banks because they need to know for certain the houses will sell and if they are not going to they will not do it. fewer new homes will not help ebony, trying to save for her first home. it feels like a mountain gets bigger. you cannot put as much in. it has been a hard slog for borrowers. interest rates, the red line, have been increased 1a times by the bank of england since 2021. the blue line, still high, but it takes time for rates to work through, curbing spending. the bank may feel it has done enough. the bank has to weigh up the impact on the economy and it now thinks that is basically flatlining and will continue to do so into 2025. it's subdued, we see the evidence of monetary policy and the rate rises we have done are having an effect, we think it is coming through in the profile of growth. stubborn inflation pours pain onto households, constructing a defence against it is not easy. the bank has indicated interest rates may stay high for a while. almost 2 million homeowners are due to remortgage by the end of 2024, facing higher repayments. for builders and borrowers, the heavy lifting is not over yet. dharshini david, bbc news. let's get some other news now —— and the uk's covid inquiry has been hearing more evidence today, as it examines the government's response and handling of the crisis. senior health officials have been speaking. live now to our correspondent zoe conway what have been some of the main points that have emerged from the hearing so far today?— points that have emerged from the hearing so far today? there was very strikin: hearing so far today? there was very striking evidence _ hearing so far today? there was very striking evidence from _ hearing so far today? there was very striking evidence from simon - striking evidence from simon stephens this morning. he is the former chief executive of the nhs. he was chief executive from 2019 until the summer of 2021 and what he was talking about, he took us behind—the—scenes, if you like, to meetings in whitehall where they were modelling what might happen in the worst—case scenario if the pandemic took hold in the uk. they were modelling as many as 840,000 deaths and he said that in one of those meetings, which took place in february 2020, that the secretary of state for health, matt hancock, was asked that if the nhs became overwhelmed, if care had to be rationed, who would decide who had to live or die and he said that in that meeting, the secretary of state for health, matt hancock, said the decision would be his, not medics, not the public but his decision. lord stevens made it clear to the inquiry that he thought that that was not the right decision at all and that he discouraged the secretary of state that that should not be his choice unless it was in exceptional circumstances. that was a very striking moment in the hearing this morning. we also got yet more of a glimpse behind—the—scenes about some of the accusations of dysfunction and chaos at the centre. there was even a text exchange between dominic cummings, the former chief adviser to the prime minister, and matt hancock, where they were discussing getting rid of simon stephens. this was in early 2020. to be clear, dominic cummings has said since then that once the pandemic gripped the country, he was no longer pushing for simon stephens to go. but we got just a bit more of that sense of the kind of characters that were making these decisions and some of them accusations of dysfunction in terms of their relationships. it is accusations of dysfunction in terms of their relationships.— of their relationships. it is worth mentioning _ of their relationships. it is worth mentioning that _ of their relationships. it is worth mentioning that this _ of their relationships. it is worth mentioning that this is - of their relationships. it is worth mentioning that this is not - of their relationships. it is worth | mentioning that this is not about finding someone guilty or innocent, this comic inquiry. just explain what the aim of the inquiry is. well, really, this is about learning lessons. should this happen again and could another pandemic, what could whitehall, what could the decision—makers do differently? i think it was very, very interesting, the exchange between the lead counsel inquiry and the chief civil servant of the department of health this afternoon about whether the department of health had just been too slow to see the nature of the threat of covid—19, that they had not moved quickly enough to suppress this virus, that even when scientists were warning of catastrophe and some senior civil servants were warning of catastrophe, that the department of health, somehow their processes were not keeping pace with this rapidly moving situation. the lead counsel for the inquiry said for example, why on the 10th of february you talking about drawing up a plan for how to deal with covid—19 that that was not even going to be ready until the 2nd of march when the situation was moving so quickly, why were you drawing up a plan that was going to take weeks to deliver? so there was this sense that sir christopher was pushing back very hard on but this idea that the sort of structures within whitehall were struggling to keep up. within whitehall were struggling to kee u. . ~ keep up. thank you, we will let you aet back keep up. thank you, we will let you get back into _ keep up. thank you, we will let you get back into the _ keep up. thank you, we will let you get back into the drive. _ keep up. thank you, we will let you get back into the drive. -- - keep up. thank you, we will let you get back into the drive. -- dry - get back into the drive. —— dry weather. you can watch the live stream of the covid—19 inquiry by going to the bbc website. the intense bombardment of gaza has continued with a third deadly air strike injabalia in the north in as many days. israeli tanks and troops are pressing towards gaza city but videos from both sides show they are encountering fierce resistance from hamas fighters. gaza's health ministry says more than 9,000 people have been killed. more foreign nationals are hoping to use the rafah crossing to escape the conflict in gaza today — after the un said 400 did so yesterday. 0ur middle east correspondent yolande knell has the latest. waiting to exit the war zone. for the second day, palestinians with foreign passports gathering at egypt's rafah crossing. susan's american passport is her ticket to leave but she has to say goodbye to her grandmother in gaza. right now, i'm between ice and fire. i don't know that i'm going to be able to see the family that i left behind or the friends that i left behind, people are dying, everybody is dying, nobody is safe. and injabalia, in northern gaza, that is the feeling as again rescuers scramble in the rubble after a third israeli strike in three days. families distraught. this father is missing his son. and this little boy weeps. "we did nothing wrong." 0n the ground in the north, israeli forces say they are advancing in their operation to dismantle hamas. and that they're at the gates of gaza city. translation: idf fighters continue to advance in the gaza city area - and conduct face—to—face battles with hamas terrorists and deepen the fighting. during the night, the forces fought against many terrorists who tried to ambush them. meanwhile, away from gaza, these were among the latest in hundreds of israeli army arrests since the war began. three palestinians, two children, were shot dead in raids in the occupied west bank. and a shooting attack near a settlement killed an israeli. while attention is diverted, tensions here are rising dangerously. yolande knell, bbc news, jerusalem. king charles and queen camilla have visited nyali beach in kenya, seeing the work environmentalists are doing to protect the area where turtle eggs often hatch, before making their way to the indian ocean. it's part of the royal couple's multi—day trip to the country. 0ur senior africa correspondent, anne soy, has been following the visit. the king and queen have gone to the kenya navy base in tonga and in mombasa, the coastal city of mombasa. very colorful pictures coming out of there with the king inspecting a guard of honour. and later, just watching as the kenyan navy, which has been trained by the royal marines, performed a covert beach landing. so very colorful pictures coming from mombasa there and really underscoring the cooperation, defense cooperation between kenya and britain. as you know, the king was announced as captain general of the royal marines last year, and therefore, this is something really close to his heart. if you would like any more of these stories in more detail, you can head to the website. we have live pages on the developing stories. now, time for the weather. hello there, good afternoon. damage and destruction caused by storm ciaran tracking eastwards across the southern half of the uk, dangerously large waves in many exposed coastal areas, and some very strong gusts of wind as well. the wind gusts have now eased, but we recorded 93 mph gusts injersey airport, 78 mph gusts at dover in kent. the winds will ease as we head through the rest of today. that storm pulls out into the north sea. but still some gusts of around 60 to 65 mph possible for exposed coastal areas, especially towards the east. bands of showers and heavy rain swirling around that very deep area of low pressure, as it gradually tracks its way further northwards and eastwards. so the winds easing towards the west but still very strong for the next couple of hours. we are going to see more heavy rain, another 40 to 60 millimetres perhaps, over the higher ground, the pennines. some more rain for eastern scotland, where we have seen the recent flooding, bands of showers again further south. northern ireland, western scotland, not seeing too bad a day. there will even be some sunshine here with temperatures peaking between ten and 12, 13 degrees celsius. still strong winds overnight tonight, across north—east england and eastern scotland. further showers here but gradually, as that low pulls away, the showers are expected to appear across england and parts of wales as well there will even be some clear spells. temperatures generally low to high single figures. as we head through friday, our area of low pressure is out into the north sea, but we can see the next one approaching from the south and the west. friday is a calmer looking day of weather. we have still got this low out in the north sea. further showers expected for much of eastern scotland and western scotland largely dry. further showers push across much of wales and into the south—west of england again. still a fairly brisk wind blowing behind the area of low pressure. temperatures between 12 and 13 celsius. it is not too long until we see the next low sweeping in from the south—west. that is going to push in as we head through saturday and will affect mostly southern areas of the uk yet again. there are localised weather warnings in force for heavy rain across the south of england, also affecting wales. further north, across northern england, and northern ireland, a little bit of dry weather. we could again see some rain in north—eastern areas of scotland. goodbye. this is bbc news. the headlines: the israeli prime minister says israeli forces have crossed the first hamas defence lines. and troops have now pushed further in than the outskirts of gaza city.