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Europe battered by deadly storms

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Written by News Editor

Friday, 19 January 2007

At least 38 people have been killed across Northern Europe as it suffered one of the worst storms in 17 years.

Winds of up to 200km/hour swept off the Atlantic and cut a path across Britain, northern France, the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Poland, Belgium and the Czech Republic.

Hundreds of flights across the continent were cancelled and German rail services across the country were halted for the first time ever.

The hurricane force winds ripped roofs off houses and toppled trees and electricity pylons. Hundreds of thousands of homes across Europe lost power.

In a joint French-British operation, rescue helicopters saved 26 crew members of a container ship that started to sink in the English Channel amid nine-metre high waves.

Child casualties

Twelve people were killed in storm related incidents in Britain, at least 10 in Germany, five in the Netherlands, four in Poland, three in the Czech Republic, two in Belgium and two in France.

Children were among those killed by falling debris or in traffic accidents.
British meteorologists said the "severe gale force" was the strongest recorded since another major storm in January 1990.

Falling trees and pylons claimed the lives of six motorists in Britain, including the managing director of central England's Birmingham airport, killed when a branch fell on his car as he was driving to work.

Winds eased on Friday but there was still disruption at London Heathrow and other British airports. British Airways cancelled more than 130 domestic flights the day before.

In Germany, an 18-month-old baby died after being crushed by a door which was ripped off its hinges by high winds in Munich.

Power cuts

A 73-year-old man was killed in Augsburg after a barn door fell on him.

For the first time in its history, the Deutsche Bahn railway company suspended all services across Germany Thursday as a precautionary measure after high winds blew trees on to the tracks.

In Berlin, a two-tonne steel girder fell more than 40m at the city's main rail station.

In the southern Dutch town of Riel an 11-year-old boy died after he was hit by a car, whose driver said the child was blown into it by a sudden gust.

The Red Cross set up temporary shelters for some 5,000 commuters who are stranded after the Netherlands shut down all rail traffic.

Power companies reported widespread chaos.
Some 100,000 homes in northern France, 20,000 households in Austria and more than 30,000 households across northeast England lost electricity. Cuts were also reported in the Netherlands and Germany.

Experts cautioned against making an automatic link between the storm and concerns over global warming.

David Salas Y Melia, a researcher at French weather forecaster Meteo France, said:"Not everything that is a little bit out of the ordinary on the surface of the planet can be systematically linked to climatic change."

Source: Agencies

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