Wednesday 30 / April / 2025
Berlin/Amsterdam: Storm Ylenia hit northern Germany in the early hours of Thursday morning, with a wind speed of up to 152 kilometres per hour (almost 95 mph) recorded by the German Meteorological Service (DWD).
The Dutch flagship airline KLM said it had cancelled 167 flights scheduled for Friday over a looming storm.
"Due to stormy weather in Amsterdam on Thursday 17 February and Friday 18 February 2022, our flights to, from, or via Amsterdam Airport Schiphol may be disrupted," the company said in a statement, adding that 167 flights had been cancelled.
On Thursday, the meteorological service of the Netherlands issued a warning over the storm Eunice, which is expected to hit the country on Friday.Germany's national rail operator Deutsche Bahn (DB) canceled long-distance trains in the states of Lower Saxony, Bremen, Hamburg, Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Berlin and Brandenburg.
In Lower Saxony, all trains were canceled because of damage from the storm to the south of Hamburg, DB said, with disruptions across the network expected until Saturday.
Passengers who had bought tickets for the affected period will be able to use them again until February 26, or cancel them free of charge. Similar goodwill arrangements have also been put in place, where people can cancel seat reservations free of charge.
DB tweeted that fallen trees were to blame for disruptions, saying that one fell on the track between Bremen and Hamburg on Thursday morning, and another between Dortmund and Münster on Wednesday evening. Both lines had been cleared, but bad weather caused delays on train routes.
Lufthansa cancelled 20 flights and announced there would be delays because of bad weather. The German airline asked people to check their flight status before traveling.
Authorities recommended staying indoors and keeping a distance from buildings, scaffoldings and power lines. DWD officials asked people to watch out for falling branches and roof tiles. The General German Automobile Club (ADAC) also advised people against driving.
The stormy winds stood to affect mostly northern states like North Rhine-Westphalia and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, according to the weather service.
DWD expects the storm to subside by late afternoon and to be more over the North Sea and Baltic coasts by then. Still, gusts of winds up to 120 kilometers per hour (74 mph) are expected in the Harz mountains and in the highlands near the Czech-German border.
Another storm packing gale force winds is expected to strike the northern part of Germany on Friday into Saturday.
Fatalities as wind topples trees
Just after midday, local police in the town of Bad Bevensen in Lower Saxony said the winds had caused one casualty — a 37-year-old man who died in a car after a tree collapsed onto a country road.
In the southern part of the Harz Mountains, in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, a 55-year-old man also died as a tree fell onto his vehicle.
Berlin fire brigade declares state of emergency
Fire departments were put on high alert nationwide and Berlin's fire brigade declared a state of emergency early Thursday morning because of a surge in calls for their services.
Several volunteer fire brigades were put to action in Berlin as some neighborhoods like Lichterfelde reported fallen trees on cars. However, there were no initial reports of injuries from the German capital.
Authorities warned people against entering parks or forests in big cities, and zoos were to remain closed in cities like Berlin, Wuppertal (North Rhine-Westphalia), Magdeburg (Saxony-Anhalt).
