Must-see: Windstorm wallops Europe, creates chaos
A massive winter storm killed at least two people in Europe as powerful winds toppled trees, ripped roofs off of buildings and caused chaos in the streets.
Stunning videos have emerged after a powerful storm slammed Europe Thursday with high winds and snow, killing at least 7 people in three countries while damaging large swathes of railways.
The Dutch national weather service recorded wind gusts of up to 87 mph in the southern port of Hook of Holland as the storm passed over, the Associated Press reported.
Footage obtained by Fox News showed a man getting pulled across a road while trying to hold onto his bicycle, and a tractor-trailer truck flipped on its side along a bridge.
Germany’s national rail operator, Deutsche Bahn, said more than 200 sections of track were damaged because of the storm, which left hundreds of thousands of travelers stranded, the BBC reported.
Jan. 18, 2018: A truck crashed during heavy storms at the motorway A 71 near Erfurt, central Germany. (AP)
Those stuck flooded hotels with last-minute bookings, while others slept on board trains parked in their stations.
The rail service was flying helicopters over the damaged areas Friday and hopes to get all trains running in time for the weekend, according to the BBC.
Strong wind topples huge tree nearly landing on mom, baby
Raw video: Mother pushing baby in stroller nearly crushed as powerful gust of wind knocks down tree in Netherlands.
Falling trees killed two 62-year-old men in the Netherlands, a woman south of the Belgian capital of Brussels, a 59-year-old man camping in the German town of Emmerich and a firefighter in the German town of Bad Salzungen, the AP reported.
In Lippstadt, in western Germany, a driver died when he lost control of his van in strong winds and drove into oncoming traffic. In German's eastern state of Brandenburg, police said a gust of wind flipped a truck over a highway, killing the driver.
Police spokeswoman Jose Albers told Dutch national broadcaster NOS that authorities also were investigating whether the powerful gusts were to blame for the death of a 66-year-old man who fell through a plexiglass roof in the central town of Vuren.
Jan. 18, 2018: Rescue workers try to remove a tree from an ICE train of Deutsche Bahn stands on the rail track near Lamspringe between Hannover and Goettingen, Germany. (AP)
Social media in the Netherlands was flooded with images of people being blown from their bicycles, cargo containers falling off a ship and damage to buildings, including a roof that peeled off an apartment block in Rotterdam.
Water authorities in the low-lying nation closed an inflatable storm barrier east of Amsterdam to prevent flooding as the storm pushed up water levels.
Traffic on Dutch roads was plunged into chaos, with the wind blowing over tractor trailers, toppling trees and hampering efforts to clean up the mess. In Amsterdam, authorities temporarily halted all trams and closed the city's zoo.
Before halting all trains, the Dutch rail service reported numerous incidents including a collision between a train and a trampoline.
Jan. 18, 2018: A man who escaped unharmed makes a phone call after his scooter was hit by a crashing tree uprooted by heavy winds in Amsterdam, Netherlands. (AP)
In neighboring Belgium, the port of Ghent closed down because of the high winds and tram traffic was halted in parts of Brussels.
In western Germany, some 100,000 people were left without electricity and schools closed down. The square in front of Cologne's famous Cathedral was partially cordoned off amid fears that masonry could be blown loose. A supermarket roof peeled off in Menden.
The storm toppled a crane in Kirtorf, central Germany.
In Britain, power was knocked out to thousands of homes. Gale-force winds damaged overhead power lines that supply trains and brought trees crashing onto the tracks, causing severe delays for thousands of commuters. Even Prince Harry and his fiancée Meghan Markle were delayed in their train trip to Cardiff in Wales.
In Romania, snowstorms and high winds forced the closure of dozens of schools, several main roads and Black Sea ports in the east. Interior Minister Carmen Dan said 32,000 people were left without power. Authorities also had to free a bus carrying 22 people that was stranded in snowdrifts in Romania's eastern Galati region.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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