Western Europe battered by severe storm; 1 dead, 23 hurt
LONDON — A violent storm packing winds up to 100 mph battered parts of Western Europe on Wednesday, derailing trains, toppling trees and halting flights. Authorities said one person was killed and at least 23 others were injured in France and Switzerland.
The high winds played havoc on transport, derailing trains in Switzerland and Germany and leaving hundreds of thousands of homes across France, Switzerland, Britain and Ireland without power.
Officials said one skier was killed in the French Alps after being hit by a falling tree in Morillon in Haute-Savoie.
Eight people suffered mostly minor injuries when a train was blown off the tracks near Lenk, a town south of Bern, the Swiss capital, according to police. In western Germany, a train derailed near Luenen when it crashed into a tree that had fallen onto the tracks. No injuries were reported.
In England, the storm brought hail and lightning. Overturned vehicles forced officials to close portions of three major highways. Some bridges were also shut down.
Extremely high tides caused the partial collapse of a harbor wall in Cornwall in southwestern England, allowing seawater to flood inland.
The country’s main weather forecaster, said gusts reached 100 mph in Cumbria, about 280 miles northwest of London, early Wednesday.
The storm battered northern France with winds surpassing 90 mph . France’s national electricity provider says some 200,000 households lost electricity, i ncluding 30,000 in the Paris region.