There were early reports of scaffolding torn down and cranes toppled, with the Twitter microblogging service coming into its own to convey the impact.
Photos posted on Twitter included a broken Jost tower crane, with its crumpled luffing jib lying on the roof of the Cabinet Office building in Westminster.
South of the river, another tower crane was down on the Old Kent Road (pic.twitter.com/YGxfIIPXjW)
In Francis Road, Hackney, fallen scaffolding covered parked cars (pic.twitter.com/urTB8BK3Ah).
There was also scaffolding down on a Mayfaor building in central London (pic.twitter.com/nhX3i7aXbY).
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