Winter storm Eleanor swept across Europe on Wednesday, causing widespread damage and disruptions that have snarled transport and cut power to tens of thousands of people. A 21-year-old skier was killed by a falling tree at Morillon in the French Alps while 15 people have been injured by the storm across the country, four of them seriously, civil defence spokesman Michael Bernier told AFP.
Another person was hurt by a falling tree in the southern Dutch village of Heesch. 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.
At Paris's Charles de Gaulle airport, where gusts of up to 134 kilometres per hour (83 mph) were recorded, 60 percent of departures were delayed Wednesday morning, as were a third of arrivals. A handful of flights had to be rerouted before the winds eased back slightly. The winds were also wreaking havoc with train services and motorway access in several French regions, the result of fallen trees, cable lines and other objects.
About 225,000 homes across France were without electricity, while "particularly intense" flooding was expected on the Atlantic coasts. The Eiffel Tower, which had to turn away tourists in the morning because of the gusts, reopened at 3:30 pm (1430 GMT), though access to the top deck remained off-limits as required when winds exceed 80 kph.
Eleanor barrelled into continental Europe after whipping across England, Northern Ireland 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. In Ireland, power supply company ESB said electricity had been restored to 123,000 customers, while 27,000 remained without power.
In the Netherlands, 252 of about 1,200 flights were cancelled at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport, a key European hub, as weather alerts were issued for several regions. Several main roads and train lines were also closed as officials rushed to prepare flooding defences.