Home World Europe News Storm Eleanor Causes Power Outages and Affects Transport in Northern Europe

Storm Eleanor Causes Power Outages and Affects Transport in Northern Europe

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Most of northern Europe, including France and Germany and the UK, has been battered by winter storm Eleanor leaving tens of thousands of homes without power and affecting transport.

In France, a skier died in the Alps and 15 others were injured elsewhere in the country, four of them seriously.

A train was blown off its tracks in Switzerland, leaving several people with minor injuries. One person was hit by a falling tree in the Netherlands.

Wind gusts may reach 124mph.

In northern France, Eleanor cut power to more than 200,000 households and it is set to move to other regions throughout the day, including Corsica.

Air travel was also disrupted in the capital, Paris, and in the east of the country.

In Paris, the Eiffel Tower was closed because of the strong winds. The French capital’s parks have also been closed until the storm dies down because of worries over falling tree branches.

A skier was killed by a falling tree in Morillon, in the Haute-Savoie region of eastern France.

Image source Flickr

In Germany, the storm – named Burglind there – has swept over much of the country. It packed gusts of more than 75mph in the west of the country and led to transport disruption, reports say.

Switzerland has also been badly hit, with some 14,000 homes without power. The high winds left several people stranded in a ski lift in St Gallen canton, overturned a light airplane in Stans and snapped the 42ft high Christmas tree in the capital Bern, Reuters reports.

Meanwhile, record wind gusts of 122mph were recorded on Pilatus Peak near the Swiss city of Lucerne, broadcaster SRF reported.

Belgium was put on “orange” alert, the third of four warning levels, with officials urging people to be cautious when going out because of tree branches and other flying objects.

In the Netherlands, gusts of more than 68mph were recorded as hundreds of flights were cancelled at Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport.

Several main roads and train lines were also closed.

Dutch authorities have, for the first time, shut all five major sea barriers to prevent flooding, as large areas of the country are below sea level.

In the UK thousands of homes are without power and travel has been disrupted after Storm Eleanor hit there.

Specialists recorded gusts reaching 100mph overnight with a weather yellow warning still in place for Wales, England, most of Northern Ireland and parts of southern Scotland.

In the Republic of Ireland, 97mph gusts were recorded, and there was flooding, travel disruption and damage to buildings.

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