LONDON: A fierce storm battered southern Britain, the Netherlands and northwestern France on Monday, leaving at least four people dead and nearly 300,000 homes without power.
The storm, which according to weather forecasters was one of the worst storms to hit Britain in years, forced hundreds of plane and train cancellations and knocked down a number of trees.
The Britain’s Met Office said that winds reached 99 miles per hour (159 kilometres per hour) on the Isle of Wight off the southern English coast.
Several major bridges were also closed, including the Severn Bridge over the estuary between England and Wales, while the environment agency issued 133 flood alerts and warned that flooding was likely across 12 areas of southwest England including Devon and Cornwall.
Likewise, thousands of homes in northwestern France also lost electricity, while in the Netherlands several rail lines were shut down, airport delays were reported.
The Dutch authorities warned citizens against riding their bicycles and the central railway station of Amsterdam was shut down by storm damage.
