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Storm lashes Spain and Portugal Storm lashes west Europe's coast
(about 13 hours later)
Powerful winds have hit parts of Spain, Portugal and France, causing serious damage, officials said. At least nine people have been killed in storms that have lashed parts of Spain, Portugal and France.
As winds of up to 140km/h (87mph) lashed parts of Spain, the interior minister warned people to stay inside, avoid driving and postpone walks. Winds of up to 140km/h (87mph) caused chaos as they moved from Portugal up through the Bay of Biscay.
The weather was blamed for three deaths - one in each of the countries. Five people are reported to have been killed in France, three in Spain and a 10-year-old boy in Portugal.
Portugal's Madeira island, which is reeling from downpours which killed dozens of people last week, was also hit by the fresh storm. The storm is expected to track north-eastwards during the course of Sunday, reaching Denmark by the evening, French meteorological authorities said.
All of Portugal was placed on orange alert - the second highest - by civil protection authorities. Falling trees
A falling tree killed a boy in northern Portugal, authorities said, according to AFP. The storm, which has been called Xynthia, has put five of the 95 French departments on red alert - only the second such warning since the new emergency system was introduced in 2001.
'No woodland walks' Hundreds of thousands of homes in west and south-west France have lost electricity while a number of French coastal villages were flooded.
Spain's Canary Islands, particularly La Palma, Gran Canaria and Tenerife, were hit by the storm, although there was not much damage. Some people had taken to their roofs in the Vendee region, one policeman told the Agence France-Presse news agency by telephone.
Some lampposts were blown over and flights cancelled on Friday. Three people drowned in Vendee, while an 88-year-old woman also drowned in Charentes-Maritime, police said.
"This is not the weekend to go walking in the woods, watching the waves or repairing the tiles on your roof-tops," Interior Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba said. The fifth French fatality was caused by a falling tree in the Pyrenees region.
Four French departments were placed on red alert, and 66 out of 95 were on orange alert for 24 hours from Saturday evening. A tree also claimed the lives of two Spanish men when their vehicle was hit and a Spanish woman aged 82 was killed by a falling wall in Galicia.
A man was also killed by a falling tree in the the southern Pyrenees region, police said. The Portuguese boy was also killed by a tree.
Spain's north-western region of Galicia, the Basque country, Castilla y Leon and Cantabria were also on high alert. Rail services were severely affected in northern Spain.
Forecasters expected winds of up to 160km/h (100mph) in those regions. Paris has ordered all parks and cemeteries to be closed on Sunday amid fears of high winds.
An elderly woman was killed when a wall collapsed on her in Galicia, AFP reported. Spain's Canary Islands, particularly La Palma, Gran Canaria and Tenerife, were hit by the storm, although there was no great damage.
Spain had 20,000 officials on alert to try to prevent or repair any damage, while the airport authority warned of possible delays or cancellations.