Northern Europe shaken by storms

Hundreds of thousands of homes in Scandinavia, Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania were left without power.

Seven people died in Sweden, four in Denmark and three in northern England, where flooding forced thousands to leave their homes.

Meteorologists say that the storm was the worst to hit the Baltic states in 40 years.

Airports, rail networks, bridges and roads were closed and dozens of North Sea ferry routes were cancelled.

In southern Sweden, two nuclear reactors were temporarily shut down and 220,000 homes in the region were without electricity.

'Electricity crisis'

Thousands of people in Carlisle, in the north-west of England, were moved into temporary accommodation as some 70,000 homes lost power in the flooding.

Many thousands of households in Denmark and Norway also suffered power cuts.

" Trees are falling like bowling pins out there "
Swedish emergency chief Jonas Petri

In pictures: Storm sweeps UK

The Baltic states suffered flooding in many coastal towns.

Estonia suffered power cuts and Latvia's government declared an electricity crisis after 60% of the country's 2.4 million population were left without power.

On Monday, 40% of the country was still without electricity.

A Latvian government minister said power would be restored to nearly all cities and towns by the end of the day. Latvian schools are closed until Wednesday.

In other incidents:

• In Sweden, at least four motorists were killed when trees were blown onto their cars and three other people died in winds that reached speeds of up to 94 mph (150km/h)

• In Germany, two 20-year-old men whose kayak capsized on a lake near the town of Landwedel were missing and presumed dead

• In Denmark, two died when uprooted trees were flung onto their vehicles and a further two were killed due to a dislodged roof.

In northern England, a man was crushed after a barn collapsed on his caravan and two elderly women died in flooded properties, police said.

On Scotland's west coast, a ferry ran aground and the 100 people on board had to remain there overnight.

Emergency services described hazardous conditions as they tried to reach people in need of help.

RELATED INTERNET LINKS:
Swedish Meteorological and hydrological Institute (Swedish)
UK Met Office
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