A very powerful storm has made its way across Europe resulting in high winds and snow. The storm has grounded flights, halted trains, flipped trucks, ripped off roofing and killed at least 7 people from three different countries.

The national weather service in Holland recorded 140km/h wind gusts in the Hook of Holland port as the storm went past. Schiphol airport in Amsterdam halted flights for over an hour with KLM airlines cancelling over 200 flights before the storm even arrived.

Train lines were halted across Holland and Germany.

In the Netherlands, falling trees took the lives of two 62-year-old men. Falling trees also killed a woman living south of Brussels in Belgium, a 59-year-old male camping in Emmerich in Germany and a firefighter serving in the German town known as Bad Salzungen.

In the town of Lippstadt in western Germany a driver was killed when strong winds caused him to lose control of his van and head into oncoming traffic. In Brandenburg in eastern Germany police reported that the wind had flipped a truck over on the highway resulting in the death of the driver.

A Dutch police spokesperson told the media that they were investigating if powerful winds had led to the cause of the death of a 66-year-old man who died after falling through a glass roof.

Social media channels in the Netherlands were filled with images of cargo containers falling off ships, riders being blown off their bicycles and in particular a roof that peeled off a Rotterdam apartment block.

Netherlands water authorities were forced to close and inflatable storm barrier to prevent flooding as water levels began to rise around Amsterdam. Traffic on roads was chaotic, with trailers being blown off the road and trees being toppled making the process of cleaning up much harder.

Authorities in Amsterdam halted all trams in the city and closed the zoo. Before all trains were halted the Netherlands rail service reported several incidents, one including a train colliding with a trampoline.

The port of Ghent in Belgium was closed because of the dangerous winds as well as tram traffic being stopped in parts of the capital of Brussels. German police reported numerous injuries as well a 4 deaths whilst the national railways service suspended all long distance trains as the tracks were covered in fallen trees.

In Germany’s west at least 100,000 people experienced power outages with schools closing down.

This extreme weather mirrors the “bomb cyclone” that recently hit the eastern USA with high winds and snow causing a shutdown of many services whilst also causing blackouts.