PARIS, DEC 27: At least 57 people were killed across northern Europe during the weekend as record-breaking winds of up to 213 kilometres-per-hour raged through the region.So far 27 people have been reported dead in France, 12 in Germany, 11 in Switzerland, five in Britain and two in Belgium.The north of France has been the worst-effected area. Gales there were the strongest ever recorded, according to the official French forecasting agency, Meteo-France."In the meteorological records, there is no trace of a phenomenon as violent as this," said Hubert Brunet, chief forecaster in the agency's Toulouse station.Overworked rescue officials said the country's main airports and railway stations were closed by the tempest, while more than a million homes were damaged or suffered power blackouts.The storm is travelling from west to east, going towards Germany."I've never seen anything like it, not even 10 years ago," said one resident in the Parisian suburb of Crespieres who was picking up shattered tilesfrom his roof, referring to the last big storm that ran through the region on February 3, 1990.Forecasters said the storm was expected to play itself out over Germany and Central Europe tomorrow.
