Hurricane-force winds wreak havoc in Britain, head to Europe

Hurricane-force Storm Xaver blasted towards mainland Europe on Thursdayafter cutting transport and power in northern Britain and killing three peoplein what meteorologists warned could be the worst storm to hit the continent inyears.

British authorities said the Thames Barrier, designed to protect London fromflooding during exceptional tides, would shut on Thursday night and warned of "the most seriouscoastal tidal surge for over 60 years in England". Prime Minister DavidCameron called two emergency meetings to discuss strategy.

Two people were killed in Britain as the nation's weather office measuredwinds of up to 225 km per hour (140 mph) when the storm slammed Scotland andparts of England.

A lorry driver was killed and four people injured when his vehicleoverturned and collided with other vehicles in West Lothian, Scotland, policesaid, while a second man died near Nottingham in central England when he washit by a falling tree.

In western Denmark the 72-year-old female passenger of a truck died when thevehicle overturned in high winds.

More than 100,000 homes were left without power across Britain, 80,000 ofthem in Scotland, according to energy company SSE.

North Sea oil and gas producers including ConocoPhillips Maersk Oil, andStatoil cut production and evacuated staff from some platforms.

All train services in Scotland were cancelled on Thursday morning due to debris on the tracks butservices were slowly restored during the day. Lifeboat crews were called torescue people from flooded homes in Rhyl in north Wales.

Low-lying coastal areas of eastern England were waiting for the storm to hiton Thursdayevening, with the Environment Agency issuing 41 severe flood warnings, thehighest category.

Police were advising more than 15,000 people to evacuate east coast areasvulnerable to tidal surges, although sea defences have been strengthened sincestorms and flooding killed hundreds on the North Sea coast in 1953.

HAMBURG ON ALERT

Germany's northern port of Hamburg was preparing for a direct hit, whichsome forecasters said could be as powerful as a storm and flood in the city in1962 that killed 315.

Of the 377 planes that had been due to land at or take off from Hamburgairport on Thursday,120 were cancelled or diverted due to high winds. The airport said it expectedfurther cancellations and delays on Friday.

In Hamburg a fish market was flooded. Many schools and Christmas marketswere closed. Ferries to Germany's North Sea islands were kept in port and someindustrial plants closed.

"The truly dangerous thing about this storm is that the winds willcontinue for hours and won't let up," said Andreas Friedrich, a Germanweather service meteorologist. "The danger of coastal flooding ishigh."

Friedrich said people were being advised to stay indoors because of the riskof trees being toppled or roofs blown off. An extreme weather warning wasissued for the northern states of Hamburg, Schleswig-Holstein, Lower Saxony andBremen.

The German transport ministry said until Sunday people should limit travel by road and rail tojourneys which are "absolutely necessary". Train services wererestricted.

The Oresund bridge linking southern Sweden with Denmark was shut at 1500GMT. Some railway lines in southern Sweden were closed, with high windsexpected in the south and heavy snow further north.

In Denmark, railroad company DSB said it would stop operating most trains.Airline Alsie Express cancelled all domestic flights and the 6.8-km (4-mile)Great Belt Bridge, which includes a 1.6-km (1-mile) suspension bridge section,was closed.

Copenhagen Airport, the Nordic region's busiest airport, closed to alltraffic on Thursdayevening until Fridayat 0700 GMT due to the storm.

Trains in the northern Netherlands were halted, Dutch Railways said. AtAmsterdam's Schiphol Airport,  50 flightswere cancelled, a spokeswoman said, adding there could be furthercancellations.