Storm kills 9 in central Europe

At least nine people have lost their lives in Austria, Germany and the Czech Republic as Hurricane Emma struck central Europe. In some areas, heavy rainfall caused flooding as well. In Austria the death toll reached four, including two German tourists, with at least two of the people killed by trees blown down by high winds. Storm kills 9 in central Europe Some 10,000 households in the north of the country have been left without electricity. Skiers in the Alps were warned to take extra care after a metre of snow fell and a Bundesliga football match was cancelled. Across the countries hit by Emma, the damage is estimated to be worth tens of millions of euros. Weather experts say winds are likely to pick up again on Sunday morning. In the Czech Republic, two people died - an 11-year-old girl who was crushed by a falling tree and a man, 80, who was hit by a piece of metal. Around 100,000 people are without electricity and transport has been disrupted throughout the country. High waves hit the Belgian coast and across the country power cables and roofs were damaged by the storm. A German ICE bullet-train crashed before dawn Saturday into a tree that fell on a track during a storm raging across Europe, and at least two motorists were killed in other storm- related accidents. The German railways said the engine driver was injured in the collision at Bruehl near Bonn, but the high-speed inter-city express train, bound for Vienna, Austria, did not derail. Its passengers, who were unhurt, were bused to a station to continue their journeys. The storm, code-named Emma by German meteorologists, lashed the northern fringes of the Alps. Winds ripped tiles from roofs and toppled billboards and gusted to 222 kilometers per hour on one mountaintop, the Wendelstein. The high winds were accompanied by hail, flurries of snow, thunderstorms in parts of southern Germany. A gust blew a motor-scooter rider, 20, into oncoming traffic, killing him at Oberpfaffenhofen, southern Germany. A falling fir tree killed a 58-year-old car passenger at Wissen in the west. Nationwide radio warnings before the storm had counseled Germans not to go into the woods for fear of falling branches. Airports ran behind schedule during the buffeting. Rail services between Munich, Germany and Salzburg, Austria ceased. A women's skiing World Cup at Zwiesel in Bavaria state was cancelled. Flash floods hit parts of Bavaria. However a heated outdoor swimming pool at Karlsruhe opened for the warm season on March 1 as usual. Though a pool cover was ripped by the storm, 60 swimmers donned shorts and bikinis, shrugged off the wind and showers, and dived in.

Storm kills 9 in central Europe

Some 10,000 households in the north of the country have been left without electricity.

Skiers in the Alps were warned to take extra care after a metre of snow fell and a Bundesliga football match was cancelled.

Across the countries hit by Emma, the damage is estimated to be worth tens of millions of euros. Weather experts say winds are likely to pick up again on Sunday morning.

In the Czech Republic, two people died - an 11-year-old girl who was crushed by a falling tree and a man, 80, who was hit by a piece of metal. Around 100,000 people are without electricity and transport has been disrupted throughout the country.

High waves hit the Belgian coast and across the country power cables and roofs were damaged by the storm.

A German ICE bullet-train crashed before dawn Saturday into a tree that fell on a track during a storm raging across Europe, and at least two motorists were killed in other storm- related accidents.

The German railways said the engine driver was injured in the collision at Bruehl near Bonn, but the high-speed inter-city express train, bound for Vienna, Austria, did not derail. Its passengers, who were unhurt, were bused to a station to continue their journeys.

The storm, code-named Emma by German meteorologists, lashed the northern fringes of the Alps. Winds ripped tiles from roofs and toppled billboards and gusted to 222 kilometers per hour on one mountaintop, the Wendelstein.

The high winds were accompanied by hail, flurries of snow, thunderstorms in parts of southern Germany.

A gust blew a motor-scooter rider, 20, into oncoming traffic, killing him at Oberpfaffenhofen, southern Germany. A falling fir tree killed a 58-year-old car passenger at Wissen in the west.

Nationwide radio warnings before the storm had counseled Germans not to go into the woods for fear of falling branches.

Airports ran behind schedule during the buffeting. Rail services between Munich, Germany and Salzburg, Austria ceased. A women's skiing World Cup at Zwiesel in Bavaria state was cancelled. Flash floods hit parts of Bavaria.

However a heated outdoor swimming pool at Karlsruhe opened for the warm season on March 1 as usual. Though a pool cover was ripped by the storm, 60 swimmers donned shorts and bikinis, shrugged off the wind and showers, and dived in.