An emergency Cobra meeting will be held as England and Wales are braced for what is expected to be one of the worst storms in decades, with millions told to stay at home to avoid winds of up to 90mph and the army placed on standby.

Ministers and officials met Friday afternoon, after Storm Eunice prompted rare red weather warnings – meaning danger to life – across much of England and Wales.

A government spokesperson said: “The minister for the Cabinet Office will chair a COBR this afternoon to discuss the response to Storm Eunice.”

The highest alert – meaning a major impact is very likely – was widened shortly before 4am to cover the east of England including London, to run from 10am until 3pm on Friday, due to fears of the storm “causing significant disruption and dangerous conditions due to extremely strong winds”, the Met Office said.

The warning covering Greater London, Kent, Surrey, Essex and east Sussex joined an earlier red weather warning starting from 7am along the coastline of Devon, Cornwall and Somerset, as well as the south coast of Wales, due to the combination of high tides, strong winds and storm surge.

There is a risk of “flying debris resulting in danger to life” and “damage to buildings and homes, with roofs blown off and power lines brought down” along the coastline of Devon, Cornwall and Somerset as well as the south coast of Wales.

On media morning rounds on Friday, Hinds, said people should take precautions, adding that the army was on “high readiness standby” to help.

Asked if people could get “cut off” by the storm, Hinds said that was “absolutely a risk”, and the red weather warning indicated a “risk to life and limb”.

People have been warned to tie down objects in their gardens and be wary of fierce winds, which could cause trees to topple over and tiles to fly off buildings. “Make sure you follow the advice of local authorities and councils, fasten doors and windows tonight and tomorrow morning and keep your cars locked in garages or away from trees and walls,” said the Met Office forecaster Annie Shuttleworth.

A fire broke out Friday on an Italian-flagged cruise ship sailing through the Ionian Sea, injuring one crew member among the nearly 300 people on board, the Greek coastguard said.

The fire on the Euroferry Olympia, which was heading to Italy from the Greek port city of Igoumenitsa, broke out at 4:30 am (0130 GMT). It was carrying 239 passengers and 51 crew on board as well as vehicles.

The injured crew member was 42 years old, a coastguard official said. Television images showed the man, walking with difficulty and helped by firefighters.

He was transported to Corfu on a coastguard patrol boat and was hospitalised with breathing difficulties, according to local media reports.

“The passengers of the cruise ship were transferred safe and sound on rescue boats to Corfu,” Rodi Kratsa, the governor of the Ionian Islands region told Greek public broadcaster.

Television images showed the ship, owned by Italy’s Grimaldi Lines, enveloped in flames that sent plumes of black smoke into the sky.

Paris transport network workers began a strike on Friday, claiming the wage increase they have been offered is not high enough.

The strike follows the call from all trade union representatives of the Paris rail and metro system, known as RATP.

According to RATP’s management, the reason for the strike is the “disagreement” on wage increases between management and employees from annual negotiations.

“The purchasing power of employees has melted in ten years,” a trade unionist from the group said. And according to the protesters, the salary increase proposed, which unions estimate at 0.4%, is too low.

According to RATP’s management, there would be an average increase of 2.7%, in addition to the sum of the profit-sharing plan, which could be higher than in previous years.

Unions are calling for a 3% pay rise each year for the next three years.

With disruptions expected on Friday, eight lines will be entirely out of service, and only six will operate during rush hour. Only the two automated lines will operate without any interruption. The RER, which links Paris to the suburbs, will be severely disrupted on its’ two main routes.

In France’s south-western Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, signallers of national rail company SNCF are also striking, demanding higher pay, and citing poor working conditions and staff shortages.

Regional trains have not been running since Thursday evening (17 February), and high-speed trains are subject to significant delays and cancellations this Friday.