Transport disrupted and woman killed by falling tree as storms sweep Europe

Pre-Christmas rail travellers in parts of Germany faced disruption as a storm swept across northern Europe, bringing down trees and prompting warnings of flooding on the North Sea coast.

In neighbouring Belgium, a woman was killed by a falling Christmas tree.

German national railway operator Deutsche Bahn said there were cancellations on routes from Hamburg and Hannover to Frankfurt and Munich, while long-distance services from Hamburg northward to Kiel and Flensburg were not running, among other disruptions.

The company said that falling trees damaged overhead electric wires or blocked tracks largely in northern Germany, but also in the central state of Hesse.

There were some delays late on Thursday evening at Frankfurt Airport, Germany’s busiest, though there were no cancellations as a result of the storm, and the airport operator said that it was business as usual on Friday morning, the dpa news agency reported.

In Hamburg, the Elbe River flooded streets around the city’s fish market, with water waist-high in places.

German authorities warned of a storm surge of up to 10ft or more above mean high tide on parts of the North Sea coast on Friday.

In Oudenaarde in western Belgium, a 65ft Christmas tree collapsed onto three people at a busy market late on Thursday, killing a 63-year-old woman and injuring two other people.

“Gusts of wind and the heavy rain made sure that the tree collapsed,” Mayor Marnic De Meulemeester said. The Christmas market was immediately cancelled.

In the Netherlands, streets around harbours flooded overnight in some North Sea towns including Scheveningen, the seaside suburb of The Hague.

Away from the coast, a woman was reportedly seriously injured Thursday by a falling tree in the eastern town of Wilp.

The huge Maeslantkering storm barrier that protects Rotterdam from high sea levels automatically closed for the first time because of high water levels — meaning that all six major storm barriers that protect the low-lying Netherlands were closed at the same time.

The nation’s water and infrastructure authority said that was also a first. By Friday morning, all six barriers were open again as winds eased.

On Thursday, high winds grounded flights in parts of the U.K., suspended train services and stopped Scottish ferries.