Use of English PRO

In the early morning of 23 January, 2009, the most powerful storm for a decade (0) HIT western France. With wind speeds in (1) ............ of 120 miles per hour, it flattened forests, (2) ............ down power lines and caused massive destruction to buildings and roads. But it also left behind an extraordinary creation. Seven miles out to sea at the (3) ............ where the Atlantic Ocean meets the estuary of the River Gironde, a small island had (4) ............ out of the water. Locals soon gave it the name The Mysterious Isle. What was so remarkable, (5) ............ its sudden apparition, was the fact that the island (6) ............ intact in what is often quite a hostile sea environment. It could well become a permanent (7) ............. Scientists quickly realised that the island's appearance (8) ............ a unique opportunity to study the creation and development of a new ecosystem. Within months, it had been colonised by seabirds, insects and vegetation.