Share

Hurricane batters northern Europe, hits travel

Hamburg - Hurricane-force winds lashed parts of northern Europe on Tuesday, causing a death in Germany, flights to be cancelled, disrupting some road and train traffic and hitting port operations.

The Dutch meteorological office issued a code red warning for the low-lying country's northern and coastal provinces, as gusts of up to 120km/h battered the Netherlands, causing damage estimated at several million euros.

German weather service spokesman Peter Hartmann said winds reached up to 160km/h on higher ground.

"This is one of the heaviest storms in recent years," he said, noting that such hurricane-force winds were highly unusual for this time of the year.

A man died in front of his house when a stone wall collapsed in the storm near to the city of Magdeburg in the east German state of Saxony-Anhalt, police said.

About 140 flights were cancelled at Frankfurt airport with one runway shut, an airport spokesperson said.

A spokesman for Amsterdam's Schiphol airport, Europe's fourth largest, said some 90 flights had been cancelled because of the wind. The airport warned that flights were delayed by an average of 90 minutes and more delays were expected.

At Rotterdam, Europe's largest port, two container terminals were closed, with ships forced to queue out at sea. A spokesperson said this was a routine precaution when winds rise above gale force seven. Bulk liquid terminals continued to operate.

Dutch Authorities warned lorry drivers not to travel with lightly loaded vehicles after a spate of overturned trucks blocked roads, while in the north some bridges had to be closed.

Near the port of Vlissingen on the Belgian border, authorities were able to refloat a 300m container ship that ran aground the small hours.

German railway operator Deutsche Bahn said it had stopped train services in the central German state of North Rhine Westphalia. Rail services were also disrupted in the southern state of Bavaria including to Munich airport.

In Britain, winds gusted up to 160km/h overnight, with a major bridge over the River Thames closed for several hours because of the bad weather, causing long traffic delays.

In Belgium, the wind uprooted trees, knocked over lamp posts and cut power lines to hundreds of homes. In some places, cars and buildings were damaged by flying debris and some rail and road links were briefly obstructed.

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Voting Booth
Do you think corruption-accused National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula will survive a motion of no confidence against her?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
No, her days are numbered
41% - 552 votes
Yes, the ANC caucus will protect her
59% - 795 votes
Vote
Rand - Dollar
18.88
+0.3%
Rand - Pound
23.85
+0.2%
Rand - Euro
20.39
+0.2%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.33
+0.1%
Rand - Yen
0.12
+0.2%
Platinum
908.05
0.0%
Palladium
1,014.94
0.0%
Gold
2,232.75
-0.0%
Silver
24.95
-0.1%
Brent Crude
87.00
+1.8%
Top 40
68,346
0.0%
All Share
74,536
0.0%
Resource 10
57,251
0.0%
Industrial 25
103,936
0.0%
Financial 15
16,502
0.0%
All JSE data delayed by at least 15 minutes Iress logo
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE