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Europe storm death toll at 62; France hardest hit
Thousands of firefighters and other rescue workers searched house by house on Monday along France's devastated Atlantic coast, trying to help those still stranded by a storm that smashed sea walls and killed at least 62 people across western Europe.
Thousands of firefighters and other rescue workers searched house by house on Monday along France's devastated Atlantic coast, trying to help those still stranded by a storm that smashed sea walls and killed at least 62 people across western Europe.
The storm, called Xynthia, blew into France early yesterday with hurricane-force winds, flooding ports, destroying homes and leaving 1 million households without electricity.
It also battered Belgium, Portugal, Spain and parts of Germany and snarled train and air travel throughout the continent.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy toured the worst-hit areas today, the coastal regions of Vendee and Charente-Maritime, and pledged Euro 3 million (USD 4 million) in emergency aid.
Regional officials clamoured for France to quickly reinforce its aging sea walls. About half the French death toll of 51 was attributed to the breach of the sea wall off the coastal town of L'Aiguillon-sur-Mer, where ocean waters surged up to the roofs of some homes.
The spokesman for France's emergency services, Lt Col Patrick Vailli, said nine other people were still missing and scores more were wounded.
The storm also caused six deaths in Germany -- including a 2-year-old boy who drowned after he was blown into a river. Three people were dead in Spain, and Belgium and Portugal had one fatality each.
