January 8, 2005
CNN
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) -- A storm with hurricane-strength winds has swept across northern Europe, leaving at least four dead in Denmark and three killed in Sweden, police said.
Key bridges and airports were closed, while rail and ferry traffic was suspended.
One motorist was killed when a tree crashed onto his car in Odense, 170 kilometers (105 miles) west of the capital, Copenhagen, police said. Police said three others were killed by debris and falling trees.
In Sweden, three people were killed, including two whose cars were struck by falling tree branches, police said.
Meteorologists described the storm Saturday as one of the worst to hit Scandinavia in years. The winds were clocked in some areas at more than 121 kph (75 mph).
Ferry traffic between Sweden, Denmark and Germany was heavily disrupted, with dozens of delays and cancellations, while floods inundated parts of Britain and left one ferry stranded.
In the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, winds damaged houses and forced train and ferry links and highway bridges to shut down. Two 20-year-old men whose kayak capsized on a lake near the town of Landwedel were missing, police said.
Airports in Copenhagen and Malmoe, Sweden's third largest city, were closed Saturday night with many inbound flights rerouted to Stockholm.
Many roads in southern Sweden were flooded, and citizens were urged to stay indoors. Bridges between the island of Funen, where Odense sits, and Zealand, where Copenhagen is located, were closed. Also closed was the bridge linking Copenhagen and Malmoe.
In southern Sweden, virtually all trains were canceled, and more than 200,000 households were without power Saturday night, authorities said.
In Malmoe, a game in Sweden's top hockey league was stopped during the third period after the strong wind caused the roof of the arena to sway.
Expecting the sea to rise to record levels, police issued warnings for people to stay indoors, and rescue teams piled thousands of sandbags and large paper rolls on the waterfront in downtown Helsinki near the president's palace.
There were more than 100 flood warnings across England, Scotland and Wales, and thousands of homes had no electricity in central and southern England.
Carlisle, in northwest England, was deluged by water when the River Eden burst its banks and cut off roads. Police asked boat owners to help them reach residents, and military helicopters were called in to evacuate at least 15 people from flooded homes.
"We've rescued a 90-year-old man. We've had a family including a young baby rescued out of an upstairs window," said Royal Air Force spokesman Mike Mulford.
Some 43 passengers and 57 crew were forced to spend the night on the P&O European Highlander ferry, which ran aground off the southwest coast of Scotland after a stormy crossing from Northern Ireland.
http://www.cnn.com/2005/WEATHER/01/08/europe.storm.ap/index.html