Storms Batter Europe, Hitting Power Supplies, Flights and Phone Networks

Two storms, Austen and Boelo, swept across northern Europe over the weekend, killing a man, cutting electricity to more than 150,000 homes and disrupting flights, roads, railways and phone networks. Gusts reached 135 kilometres per hour in western Scotland, where fallen trees and power lines blocked transport routes. Power outages affected about 82,000 homes in Britain, 59,000 in France and at least 10,000 in Germany. Amsterdam Schiphol cancelled flights; Freiburg’s hospital restricted operations to emergencies after outages disrupted mobile phone networks.