Storm Eleanor brings chaos to Europe

PARIS - Winter storm Eleanor swept across Europe on Wednesday, bringing death, damage and disruption, snarling transport networks and cutting power to tens of thousands of people.

Two people died on Spain's northern Basque coast after being swept away by a huge wave, officials said, and another person had to be rescued after attempting to save them.

In France, a 21-year-old skier was killed by a falling tree at Morillon in the Alps, where dangerous conditions forced the closure of several resorts.

More than a dozen others were injured by the storm across France, four seriously, civil defense spokesman Michael Bernier said as the country was lashed by what meteorologists termed the strongest winds in eight years.

About 225,000 homes across France were without electricity, while "particularly intense" flooding was expected on the Atlantic coasts.

Heavy winds forced authorities to close the airports in Strasbourg and Basel-Mulhouse on France's border with Germany and Switzerland before they were reopened shortly after midday.

Belgium and parts of Spain were also put on orange alert, the third of four warning levels, with officials urging people to exercise caution when venturing out.

Eleanor barreled into continental Europe after whipping across England and Ireland, with the Thames Barrier, one of the largest movable flood barriers in the world, closed as a precautionary measure to protect London from swelling tides.

"We have seen some heavy showers push through across the south of the UK along with hail, loud thunder and lightning," said meteorologist Becky Mitchell.

In the Republic of Ireland, power supply company ESB said electricity had been restored to 123,000 customers, while 27,000 remained without power.

In the Netherlands, more than 250 flights were canceled at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport, a key European hub, as weather alerts were issued for several regions.

Eleanor is the fourth major storm to hit Europe since December.

Blizzard pounds US

Meanwhile, the United States also suffered from extremely cold weather. A brutal winter storm smacked the coastal southeast with a rare blast of snow and ice on Wednesday, hitting parts of Florida, Georgia and South Carolina with their heaviest snowfall in nearly 30 years.

Forecasters warned that the same system could soon strengthen into a "bomb cyclone" as it rolls up the East Coast, bringing hurricane-force winds, coastal flooding and up to 30 centimeters of snow.

At least 17 deaths were blamed on dangerously cold temperatures that for days have gripped wide swathes of the US from Texas to New England.

Schools in the southeast called off classes just months after being shut down because of hurricane threats, and police urged drivers to stay off the roads in a region little accustomed to the kind of winter woes common to the northeast.

"This is the coldest I've been in probably 50 years," said Gorans, who lives in Fresno, California, and was visiting his wife's family in Maryland. "I mean, this is freezing cold. My feet hurt, my ears hurt."

Afp - Ap

(China Daily 01/05/2018 page11)