3RD Three killed as storm shuts down German rail system


dpa German Press Agency
Published: Thursday January 18, 2007

Berlin- Three people were killed on Thursday as a powerful
storm ravaged Germany, forcing the suspension of the country's entire
rail network.
The storm named Kyrill that has been disrupting transport,
uprooting trees and severing power supplies, also forced stranded
rail travellers to seek shelter at rail stations.

A spokesman for the German railway said train tracks were secure
and precautions were being made so that transport would resume
Friday.

Rail services had previously been suspended in northern and
western regions of the country because of blocked tracks and damage
to overhead power cables.

Packing winds of 190 kilometres per hour, the storm blew tiles off
the roofs of houses and brought torrential rain, flooding parts of
the capital, Berlin.

In the southern state of Bavaria, a man and an 18-month-old baby
were killed when doors ripped off their hinges by the wind fell on
top of them. In the neighbouring region of Baden a motorist died when
he crashed into an uprooted tree.

Ferry services in the North Sea and Baltic Sea were also halted
and people were urged to remain indoors as strong winds buffeted
coastal regions.

In some parts of the country, rainfall of up to 70 litres per
square metre was feared as the emergency services mobilized some
40,000 workers to help in relief operations.

"The safest place to be is indoors," said meteorologist Holger
Starke of the Meteomedia weather service.

German national carrier Lufthansa cancelled 109 flights affecting
6,700 passengers and the country's main international airport at
Frankfurt reported 80 cancellations.

Transport authorities issued a warning to the drivers of large
trucks using motorways, telling them to shelter in service stations
as a precaution against the gale-force winds.

Officials in Hamburg, northern Europe's biggest port, were bracing
for tides up to 3.5 metres higher than those usual for this time of
year. Similar high water levels were predicted for other North Sea
coastal towns.

Trees were uprooted in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, and
local authorities advised motorists to avoid parking their cars under
trees or in low lying areas liable to flooding.

Schools closed early in several German states to allow pupils to
return home before the full force of the of the most powerful storm
to hit Germany in seven years struck later in the day.

Travelling from west to east, the weather system also cut power
supplies in several towns.

© 2006 - dpa German Press Agency