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At least 40 people have been killed after France was battered by hurricane-force winds and heavy rain in a violent storm - reports news.com.au
Some victims were hit by falling trees and branches while others drowned.
Gusts up to 100km an hour lashed the country's northern regions and were sweeping east towards Belgium and Luxembourg.
Winds reached about 200kph on the summits of the Pyrenees Mountains and about 150kph along the Atlantic Coast.
The storm, named Xynthia, also cut off electricity to more than one million residents.
Three victims drowned in western France's Vendee region, police and rescuers said.
An 88-year-old woman was also found drowned in her home on the further south isle of Oleron.
Authorities reported that a man was killed by a falling tree in the southwest Pyrenees region.
Forecasters said the storm appeared less fierce than those that hit France in December 1999, in which 92 people were killed.
