Powerful winds and heavy rain swept across northern Europe from Ireland to Russia over the weekend leaving at least 15 dead by yesterday.
The storm was one of the worst to hit Scandinavia in years, with winds clocked in some areas at more than 75 mph. Some bridges and airports in Scandinavia were temporarily closed, and rail and ferry traffic was badly disrupted.
At least six people died in Sweden, including two whose cars were hit by falling tree branches. One motorist died in Denmark when a tree crashed onto his car in Odense, and three others were killed by debris and falling trees.
In the north German state of Schleswig-Holstein, wind damaged houses and forced the closure of train and ferry links and highway bridges. Two 20-year-old men whose kayak capsized on a lake near the town of Landwedel were missing and presumed dead, police said.
Parts of Britain were flooded, disrupting air and sea transport, and hundreds of thousands of homes lost power. High water in the Russian port city of St Petersburg forced the closure of some subway stations.
In St Petersburg, on the Gulf of Finland, cars ploughed through bumper-deep water on flooded streets, and six stations were shut; three were reopened later.
In Finland, sea levels reached record highs, cutting off several coastal roads, but no major damage was reported. Rescue teams piled thousands of sandbags and large bales of recycled paper on the waterfront in downtown Helsinki where the sea rose five feet above normal levels onto the streets and market place.
In Latvia, on the Baltic Sea, nearly winds as high as 90 mph buffeted the country's coastal regions, toppling trees and tearing off roofs.
AP