Winter begins as Palasia threatened with storm evacuation

His Imperial Majesty the Emperor has announced the official start of winter 2013-4 in the Austenasian calendar, as a storm forces thousands from their homes in the United Kingdom. In the UK, two people have died and tens of thousands of homes are without electricity due to the storm, with winds over 100 mph having been recorded in some locations. Thousands have been evacuated from their homes in preparation for a storm surge along the east coast of England. Deputy Prime Minister Lord John Gordon informed government officials over Skype earlier today that his town of Palasia has been put under a state of emergency, being situated close to the areas in which the British government has issued flood warnings. He also noted that flooding of Palasia was “anticipated” and evacuation was “possible”. Other areas of mainland Austenasia are not thought to be so much at risk, although all have been experiencing above-average wind speeds throughout the day, with heavy rain falling in Greater Wrythe this afternoon. Glencrannog is forecasted to have sleet and strong winds tonight, but that is unlikely to affect its non-existent population. The Emperor has sent a message of support to Palasia and advised all residents to stay indoors should they be worried about the weather. UPDATE 6 DECEMBER 11:00 – Lord John Gordon has informed the Emperor that the residents of Palasia “are all fine”, and that despite it being “very windy with a bit of flooding” there was “nothing serious”. The state of emergency within Palasia, under which Lord John had been given emergency powers, has also been lifted.

New territory annexed as administrative changes take place

A field in the British country of Gloucestershire has been annexed to the Empire as the Territory of Corinium Terentium. The Empire of Austenasia Act 2013, passed at 17:00 this afternoon, annexed the new land to Austenasia as well as making a three-fold division between different types of administrative divisions in the Empire. From now on, all land in Austenasia shall be either a Town, a Territory, or a Crown Dependency. Wrythe and Zephyria remain Towns, but Glencrannog has become a Territory along with Corinium Terentium. Towns and Territories are both fully incorporated into the Empire under the hierarchy of provinces, duchies and regions, but the former are inhabited and represented in Parliament whereas the latter are not. Crown Dependencies are autonomous territories under the direct rule of a representative of the Emperor. The annexation of Corinium Terentium – the first non-contiguous British territory to be added to the Empire since April 2009 – adds a further 428,000 square feet to the Empire. The Territory is governed by Lord Centurion William Wade, a British citizen who lives nearby and who has agreed to enforce Austenasian law in Corinium Terentium as its Governor. A new military unit, Centuria I Gloucestria, has been founded to defend the Territory, and at present has two enlisted soldiers who live within a mile of it. The annexation of Corinium Terentium has necessitated an expansion of the administrative hierarchy – the Province of Greater Corinium and the Duchy of Davidopia have been founded to contain it, within the already existing Region of Inner Austenasia. The title Duke of Davidopia has been granted by Parliament to HIH Emperor Father Terry.