A storm hits northern Europe and kills at least 4 people

Copenhagen, Denmark (AFP) – Storm The cyclone hit Britain, northern Germany and southern Scandinavia early Saturday for the third day in a row, packing strong winds, heavy rain and storm surge that caused flooding, power outages, evacuations and disruption of flights, rail services and ferry lines.

Since Thursday, at least four people have died in the storm, which the UK Met Office has named “Bapt”. The German news agency reported that the latest victim was a 33-year-old woman who was killed when a tree fell on her car on the Baltic Sea island of Fehmarn on Friday afternoon. Three storm-related deaths were reported in England and Scotland on Thursday and Friday.

High winds sparked storms on the southern shores of the Baltic Sea, breaching flood defenses in coastal areas of Denmark and northern Germany. In Flensburg, a German city south of the border with Denmark, water levels rose more than two meters to the highest level recorded in a century. Electricity was cut off in flooded areas of the city for safety reasons.

Ferry lines and rail service have been temporarily suspended in affected areas in Germany, Denmark and southern Sweden. Copenhagen Airport canceled 142 flights due to the storm on Friday but resumed operations on Saturday morning.

People were evacuated from homes and camps in hard-hit areas of Denmark and dozens of people were without electricity. The municipality of Haderslev in southern Denmark decided to evacuate the entire coastal strip.

“The situation on the coast is now so serious that it is too dangerous to remain there. All affected areas have been evacuated and the emergency response is withdrawing its crews,” the municipality said in a Facebook post late on Friday. It was not immediately clear how many people were affected.

The Danish Meteorological Institute warned of strong winds and rising water levels throughout the weekend.

In Scotland, up to 4 inches (100 mm) of rain was expected on Saturday, and several towns remained under a red weather alert, the highest level, meaning there is a risk to life.

Jonathan Vautrey, a meteorologist at the Met Office, said parts of eastern and northern Scotland had already seen a month and a half of rain during the storm, with more heavy rainfall that could “push those areas closer to two months of rain within three”. days”. “

In the worst-hit town of Brechin, residents of more than 300 homes were told to leave before the South Esk River burst its banks on Friday, rising about 4 meters above its usual level and pouring water into the streets.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency warned of the possibility of a second major flood on the River Don on Saturday. Scottish First Minister Humza Yousaf said: “Sadly, it is clear that we have not seen the end of this storm.” The storm caused disruption across the UK, with flooding closing many major roads and railway lines. Leeds Bradford Airport in northern England remained closed on Saturday.