Storms devastate northern Europe leaving 33 dead
Ten people were killed in Germany as winds gusted up to 114mph overnight. One victim was crushed
under the rubble of his collapsed roof and a 56-year-old farmer died after he was struck by lightning.
"It was an extreme occurrence," German meteorological office spokesman Uwe Kirsche said.
"Storms are normal at this time of year, but not at this strength."
The office said the death toll might have been higher had the storm not been forecast by meteorologists late last week, as it gathered strength in the North Atlantic before it swept across Britain and on into continental Europe.
In Britain, falling trees and debris killed seven people, cut power supplies to thousands of homes and disrupted air, road and rail travel.
An angler drowned after winds swept him out to sea and three other people, including a 14-year-old girl, were crushed by trees falling on their cars.
The head of the Association of British Insurers told local media the damage would stretch into tens of millions of pounds, while police in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia put the damage in that region alone at millions of euros.
British Airways said it had cancelled 11 short-haul flights yesterday and there would be short delays on other departures.
Hundreds of rail services were also cancelled in Britain yesterday and train services were also disrupted in Germany due to damage to overhead cables and debris blocking the lines.
Shipping services between Britain and France were disrupted on Sunday, and a P&O passenger ferry carrying 800 passengers and 130 crew was blown into a British warship as it tried to dock in southern England.
In France, two car passengers died when a tree fell on their vehicle. A hunter was struck by a falling tree and a man was killed when the roof of a home under construction caved in.
In Belgium, media reports said five people had been killed, including a 13-year-old boy who crashed into a skip at a construction site after losing control while roller skating at the Belgian coast.
Winds also swept a 60-year-old man from his roof to his death, while two other Belgians died diving in a river.
In Denmark, a 51-year-old man died while driving alone in his car on a forest road in the south west of the country.
In the Netherlands, four people died, including a 77-year-old man near Amsterdam who was blown into an iron fence. Winds also swept one person into the sea near the Dutch town of Scheveningen. A third person was later reported blown into the sea near Vlissingen.
"Normally a person would not survive this," a coastguard spokesman said after a fruitless search.
A spokesman for Dutch insurer Interpolis said the company had received thousands of damage claims, estimating the total cost at about $14.6 million. He said the figure might rise to "tens of millions of euros".
In Poland, at least two people were killed and several injured overnight. One man died after driving a car into a fallen tree-trunk and a fly-away metal sheet killed another.
Firefighters evacuated several houses damaged by winds, and some areas had electricity supply cut off as lines were torn down.
