13 killed by force of storm Emma

HURRICANE-force winds across Europe at the weekend killed 13 people and left a trail of destruction, as cars were blown off the road, roofs were ripped offand trees fell like matchsticks.

The storm, dubbed Emma by forecasters, saw winds of up to 200 kilometres an hour and heavy rains as it ripped its way across central Europe.

As the winds eased slightly yesterday Germany reported five dead, Austria had four fatalities, two died in the Czech Republic and two lives were lost in Poland.