Cold temperatures compounded by gale-force winds and snow on Thursday wreaked havoc across the Nordic region, leaving thousands without power while others braved the cold for hours stuck in their cars along clogged highways.
Heavy rain in Germany, France and the Netherlands again caused floods in regions that have seen persistent flooding in the past two weeks.
One death was reported in France.
Photo: AFP
The deep freeze disrupted transportation throughout the Nordic region amid reports of traffic chaos following closures of sections of highways and major roads. Problems with rail services have also been reported.
Electricity was cut to about 4,000 homes in arctic Sweden, where temperatures plummeted to minus-38°C, Swedish public radio reported.
In the southern part of the country, motorists were stuck in their cars or evacuated to a nearby sporting complex where they spent the night.
In Denmark, police urged motorists to avoid unnecessary trips as wind and snow battered the northern and western parts of the country.
In Finnish Lapland, the municipality of Enontekio, near the border with Norway and Sweden, recorded the country’s lowest temperature this winter at minus-43.1°C.
Meteorologists are forecasting even colder temperatures for the rest of the week.
A ferry sailing between the capitals of Norway and Denmark docked in Copenhagen after about 900 passengers spent the night aboard the vessel, which had been idling in the Oresund Strait between Denmark and southern Sweden.
On Wednesday, weather hampered the Crown Seaways vessel from sailing into the Copenhagen harbor.
In Germany, heavy rain has resumed in regions that have seen persistent flooding over the past two weeks.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz made his second visit this week to inspect a dike and a sandbag-filling facility in the eastern town of Sangerhausen.
After several days of rain and rising waters, several towns in northern France were left underwater.
Hundreds of people have been evacuated in the past few days.
The area was also hit by flooding in November and last month, and some towns still had not recovered.
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