A powerful winter storm caused mayhem across Europe on Thursday, with snow and winds reaching up to 140 kph (87 mph) in some areas of the Netherlands, according to the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute.
The storm affected air and land transport across countries.
Amsterdam's busy Schiphol airport briefly suspended flights and closed two of its three departure halls after its roof plates were blown away by strong winds over the departure terminal.
It's flagship airline KLM suspended or canceled several flights to and from Amsterdam.
Eight people, including two firefighters, were killed across Germany, Brussels, and the Netherlands as heavy winds caused trees to fall and traffic accidents to spike, the BBC reported.
Videos showing the powerful storm were shared on social media.
Trucks were overturned on highways:
Vrachtwagen #stormpic.twitter.com/BMXG51Dc32
— Peter (@Wielerinfo) January 18, 2018
Roofs were ripped off of buildings:
Waanzinnig, complete daken worden weggerukt. #storm (via @paulschram) pic.twitter.com/vHbglN4HOE
— Johan Boef (@jboef) January 18, 2018
Metal structures were completely blown over:
"Pio-neer" langs A6 bij #Almere#CodeRood#Pioneerpic.twitter.com/s9nKizJEqW
— TCR-Advanced-Dre (@Dre_ter_Haar) January 18, 2018
Pedestrians and cyclists clung to traffic posts:
#Storm bij het Strijkijzer pic.twitter.com/6M8ukNmir9
— Arnout Vos (@arnoutvos) January 18, 2018
Gale-force winds made it difficult to walk:
#storm Den Bosch pic.twitter.com/QxVqgaMJ5Q
— Marco (@tensioncoach) January 18, 2018
Business Insider Netherlands contributed to this report.
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