A powerful storm raged across Europe on Thursday, causing the deaths of nine people, Germany’s international broadcaster Deutsche Welle reported. The storm, called Friederike, shut down transportation systems in Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. Winds reached up to 203 kilometers per hour.
As many as five people died in Germany. Two died in the Netherlands and one in Belgium after trees came crashing down. In Germany, the toll included two firefighters working in emergency operations.
German railway operator Deutsche Bahn said all long distance and some regional trains had been halted after the storm, but operations slowly resumed on Friday. Meanwhile, power outages left 1,00,000 people without electricity in Germany.
Flights at Schiphol airport in Amsterdam were suspended for a few hours on Thursday, and two of its three departure halls were closed after the roof plates of its terminal building were blown off, BBC reported. Some passengers whose flights landed at the airport said they experienced rough landings and people threw up.
The Dutch Railways said overhead power lines were damaged by the storm, as well as some rails. It said that “fewer trains” would run because of the weather conditions. At least 66 trucks were blown over by the wind.
Police officials closed down the centre of the Dutch city of Almere, with its 2,00,000 inhabitants, BBC said.
In the United Kingdom, the storm caused high winds on Wednesday and Thursday, and cut off power to tens of thousands of homes. It also knocked down several trees.
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