Huge storms sweep northern Europe

Bounty · Post by **Bounty** » 2007-01-18 04:05pm

BBC wrote:At least 17 people have been killed as violent storms lashed northern Europe, causing travel chaos across the region.

Britain was the worst hit with nine people killed as rain and gusts of up to 99mph (159km/h) swept the country.

Hurricane-force winds battering Germany have claimed at least three lives. The other deaths were reported in the Netherlands and France.

The severe weather has forced hundreds of flight, rail and ferry cancellations and prompted road and school closures.

The first fatality was reported in Shropshire, England, where a 54-year-old man died after his car was crushed by a falling branch. Three other people died on the roads in the UK.

A two-year-old boy also died when a wall collapsed on him in the capital, London.

One man was killed on a road in south-western Germany when he crashed into another vehicle as he tried to avoid a fallen tree, police said.

In Bavaria, a 73-year-old man was killed when he was struck by debris. In Munich, an 18-month-old child died after being crushed by a door that blew off its hinges.

Three people were killed by falling trees in the Netherlands, and one person was killed the same way in Roubaix, France. A 30-year-old man was also killed in a motoring accident in the Somme.

'Stay indoors'

At the peak of the storms, tens of thousands of homes across the UK were left without power.

In Germany, the national rail company, Deutsche Bahn, suspended all its services late on Thursday.

Earlier German radio said more than 40,000 volunteers were on standby to help the fire brigade deal with the widespread damage that was anticipated.

Low-lying areas of northern Germany are preparing for possible flooding.

In the Netherlands, as in Germany, people have been advised to stay indoors.

"Our country has not had a storm like this in years. We advise you to follow weather alarms and messages to the letter," the Netherlands' Royal Weather Service said.

Austria forecast winds of up to 105mph (170km/h) at higher altitudes in the Alps, and officials warned skiers to get off the mountains and seek shelter well before nightfall.

In other developments:

* A British container ship is listing in the English Channel almost 50 miles (80km) off Cornwall - all 26 crew of the MSC Napoli abandoned ship

* US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice cuts short her visit to Berlin in order to leave for London before weather worsened

* London's Heathrow Airport, Europe's largest, cancels 123 flights. Other major airports including Frankfurt, Munich, Amsterdam and Vienna report delays and cancellations

* Ferries are cancelled or delayed in Britain, Ireland, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Finland - where minor floods are reported near Helsinki

* Residents along the North Sea coast are warned to expect storm swells up to 3.5m (11.5ft) higher than normal

* Traffic on the Eurostar, the train service connecting Britain with continental Europe, is suspended after an electrical cable holder fell onto tracks near the French city of Lille

It didn't look that bad today, but I'm pretty far inland and away from major rivers. I did get blown off my feet on the way to the bus...

Bounty · Post by **Bounty** » 2007-01-18 04:06pm

Images:

Dartzap · Post by **Dartzap** » 2007-01-18 04:11pm

It's been pretty blowy here all day, we generally get worst hit during the late night though.... Plenty of trees coming down tonight, me thinks.

Grog · Post by **Grog** » 2007-01-18 05:05pm

Sweden was also hit a couple of days ago, I think it was 3-4 people who died here.

Isana Kadeb · Post by **Isana Kadeb** » 2007-01-18 05:13pm

Its pretty serene here in Bristol.

Raesene · Post by **Raesene** » 2007-01-18 05:18pm

The storm just arrived in Vienna - so far only trees were felled in Austria

I hope it stays like that.

Admiral Valdemar · Post by **Admiral Valdemar** » 2007-01-18 05:40pm

Several trees fell here and my dog got pissed off for not being taken out in 100+ km/h winds.

Post by **Colonel Olrik** » 2007-01-18 05:53pm

Nights like this are the reason I pay for an underground parking lot. Brr, it's windy in Munich.

salm · Post by **salm** » 2007-01-18 07:36pm

Heh, the street lights are rocking rather strong. That looks pretty cool.

Isana Kadeb · Post by **Isana Kadeb** » 2007-01-18 07:44pm

Just went out for a fag, still nothing.

Rye · Post by **Rye** » 2007-01-18 08:13pm

When I was driving home, I drove through a stretch of road with huge trees on either side of the road, and a fuckton of sticks were blown out of the wall of trees and rained down like hail on the car, it was fucking scary. There's been all sorts of shit in the roads and the power's not been too stable.

Apparently, Sheffield is hellish right now.

I also heard that apparently a crane fell down in Manchester, but I've not checked the news so I don't know if it's true.

TheDarkling · Post by **TheDarkling** » 2007-01-18 08:44pm

A few miles of tail back on the A34 earlier here in North Staffs due to a tree coming down, luckily I knew a back country road or else I would have been stationary for the better part of an hour.

Pax Britannia · Post by **Pax Britannia** » 2007-01-18 09:42pm

I woke up to the sound of ambulances this morning. My area got hit pretty bad.

Jason von Evil · Post by **Jason von Evil** » 2007-01-18 10:23pm

Isana Kadeb wrote:Just went out for a fag, still nothing.

I know what a fag means over there, but damn if I'm not tempted to make the obvious joke.

dragon · Post by **dragon** » 2007-01-18 11:46pm

Here in Stuttgart Germany it was fairly minor but about 150km away in Wuerzburg they were talking about evacuating people into shelters it was so bad.

Big Orange · Post by **Big Orange** » 2007-01-19 09:21am

Isana Kadeb wrote:Its pretty serene here in Bristol.

Are you fucking kidding? I could hear deep howlings echoing for hours on end and also walking against the wind outside the Eagle House, my garden fence blew over as well - but I guess we were fairly lucky if people actually died...

Isana Kadeb · Post by **Isana Kadeb** » 2007-01-19 12:23pm

Big Orange wrote:
Isana Kadeb wrote:Its pretty serene here in Bristol.
Are you fucking kidding? I could hear deep howlings echoing for hours on end and also walking against the wind outside the Eagle House, my garden fence blew over as well - but I guess we were fairly lucky if people actually died...

What? I'm near the waterfront. I didn't notice anything unusual at all.

Exmoor Cat · Post by **Exmoor Cat** » 2007-01-19 12:27pm

Two year old kid got killed just up the road from me here. Also Kings Cross Station was shut for ages. Lots of branches and fences dowen. Today was mild and somewhat sunny, but once evening set in, the wind picked up again, so it's slightly breezy now.

FSTargetDrone · Post by **FSTargetDrone** » 2007-01-19 12:27pm

Saw some pictures of this over here in the US on the news. Some of it looks a lot like the midwest and other areas on the coasts that see typical tornado and hurricane damage. I guess it's pretty unusual over there.

Stay under cover, folks! Flying debris is no fun.

Admiral Valdemar · Post by **Admiral Valdemar** » 2007-01-19 12:31pm

Force 10/11 on the Beaufort scale near me, that's essentially hurricane level. I noticed powerlines came down on a main road near me, so my dad had to drive the long way round to get home. A local was killed in a nearby town as a piece of roofing flew into him.

FSTargetDrone · Post by **FSTargetDrone** » 2007-01-19 12:34pm

Admiral Valdemar wrote:Force 10/11 on the Beaufort scale near me, that's essentially hurricane level. I noticed powerlines came down on a main road near me, so my dad had to drive the long way round to get home. A local was killed in a nearby town as a piece of roofing flew into him.

Yeah, good move avoiding the power lines. Treat them all as live. And it never fails to stun me into stupification when I see video of people attempting to cross flooded roads with murky water and its depth unclear, resulting in them getting stuck or possibly swept away as the water rises.

Admiral Valdemar · Post by **Admiral Valdemar** » 2007-01-19 12:38pm

That's nothing. Apparently, in a local town I go to do charity work in at times, the same road with that shop had half another shop's roof fly into the street. Police cordoned off the area, yet people were seen still passing through the cordon to get their pasties or sausage rolls and doughnuts. That's fucking crazy. 160 km/h winds blowing whole scaffolding sets off skyscrapers do not get braved simply because you want a convenient snack!

FSTargetDrone · Post by **FSTargetDrone** » 2007-01-19 12:47pm

Admiral Valdemar wrote:That's nothing. Apparently, in a local town I go to do charity work in at times, the same road with that shop had half another shop's roof fly into the street. Police cordoned off the area, yet people were seen still passing through the cordon to get their pasties or sausage rolls and doughnuts. That's fucking crazy. 160 km/h winds blowing whole scaffolding sets off skyscrapers do not get braved simply because you want a convenient snack!

<shakes head>

People just don't seem to appreciate that just because you don't see the flying bits near you, it doesn't mean that the piece of whatever that comes flying up and hits you in the back of the head won't kill you before you hit the ground

No need to be out in that. And I am going to bet there will be more deaths from this that could easily be avoided....

Dartzap · Post by **Dartzap** » 2007-01-19 12:50pm

Admiral Valdemar wrote:That's nothing. Apparently, in a local town I go to do charity work in at times, the same road with that shop had half another shop's roof fly into the street. Police cordoned off the area, yet people were seen still passing through the cordon to get their pasties or sausage rolls and doughnuts. That's fucking crazy. 160 km/h winds blowing whole scaffolding sets off skyscrapers do not get braved simply because you want a convenient snack!

This isn't America, we don't go hysterical about hurricanes, we consider it a bit of a breeze and go about our normal business

...Admittedly that tends to lead to people getting maimed/killed etc... But come on, down here 100MPH winds are not that uncommon, an example would be Boscastle getting completely fucked over when the flood defences failed a few years back because of the constant rain and wind.

Admiral Valdemar · Post by **Admiral Valdemar** » 2007-01-19 01:15pm

Perhaps not, but when those winds hit me, when I'm a good half hour's drive from the coast, then it changes things. That the winds had the power to go so far in to the rest of the country and into the continent, and still blow over lorries and down cables and trees speaks of the energy and ferocity of this recent storm front.