Europe hit by winds and avalanches
Hundreds snowed in as winter storm causes blackouts and flight cancellations
BERLIN: Hundreds of people were snowed in at Alpine regions and warned of a high risk of avalanches, parts of Scandinavia were left without electricity, and high winds caused flight delays and cancellations in the Netherlands as deadly winter weather continued to blast Europe.
Several people have already been killed in weather-related incidents over the last week, and in Norway attempts to find the bodies of four skiers were again put on hold due to poor visibility and heavy snowfall.
A 29-year-old Swedish woman and three Finns, aged 29, 32 and 36, were presumed dead after a 300m-wide avalanche hit the Tamok valley, near the northern city of Tromsoe, last week.
In Austria, hundreds of residents were stuck in their homes due to blocked roads, and some regions experienced power outages after snow-laden trees took down power lines.
Schools in some Austrian regions remained closed for a second day and homeowners were advised to remove snow from their roofs after several buildings collapsed.
A 78-year-old man was severely injured when he fell of the roof of his home in Turrach while shoveling snow, Austrian public broadcaster ORF reported.
On Monday night, 11 German hikers had to be rescued by mountaineers from a cabin near Salzburg, after having been snowed in without electricity and little food since Friday.
Several people were killed by avalanches in recent days and authorities warned continuing snowfall is increasing the already high risk of more avalanches.
In southern and eastern Germany, people were also bracing for further snowfall, while in the northern coastal city of Hamburg residents were preparing for a storm flood caused by a winter gale, the German news agency dpa reported. In neighbouring Netherlands, Amsterdam’s busy Schiphol Airport warned of delays and cancellations.
Dutch carrier KLM cancelled 159 flights to and from European destinations.
In northwestern Dutch coastal regions expected to be hardest hit by strong winds and wild seas, local water authorities began checking dikes to make sure they were not damaged.
The Noorderzijlvest water authority said it was monitoring dikes because of debris floating in the sea after nearly 300 containers tumbled off a cargo ship in a storm last week.
Many of the containers are still at sea and some have broken open, spilling their contents.
Heavy snowfall and strong winds were reported yesterday over central Scandinavia, hampering efforts to restore electricity after a hefty storm swept through northern Europe on Jan 2.
Swedish media reported several fender-benders and stranded vehicles along roads but nothing unusual for the season in this part of Europe.
In southeastern Europe, schools in the Greek capital and many surrounding areas remained shut due to weather conditions after snowfall blanketed Athens, with temperatures in some parts of the country plunging well below freezing.