France has declared a national emergency after storms battered western Europe leaving at least 50 people dead - 45 of them in France.
France's Atlantic coast bore the brunt of the violent winds and torrential rain of the storm - named Xynthia - with widespread damage and power cuts.
Xynthia smashed into the western coasts of France, Portugal and Spain on Sunday, with torrential rain driven by winds of up to 140km/h (87mph).
French Prime Minister Francois Fillon says funds will be released to help repair damaged homes and roads.
Waves whipped up by hurricane-force winds battered the coasts of France, Portugal and Spain.
The winds damaged homes and property and over a million households in France lost electricity supplies.
A tree claimed the lives of two men when their car was hit near Arlanzon in Spain.
A number of French coastal villages were flooded and emergency services were in action rescuing residents from their homes.
Police helicopters were in action trying to find people stranded on the roofs of their homes.
A woman waits to be rescued from her flooded kitchen in the French coastal town of La Faute-sur-Mer in western France.
The storm has been moving north eastwards across the continent, damaging apartment buildings in Mainz in western Germany.
The storm has caused travel chaos in many parts of western Europe: an uprooted tree lies across a road in the town of Essen in Germany.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy is visiting the worst-affected coastal areas to oversee rescue efforts.
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