Northern Europe battered by 3rd major storm; deaths hit 14

By DANICA KIRKA
Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — Northern Europe has been battered by the third major storm in five days. Storm Franklin, which hit Sunday and Monday, killed at least two more people, bringing the week’s death toll to 14. It also disrupted travel and prompted hundreds of flood alerts. Heavy rains and high winds pushed in even as crews worked to clear fallen trees and restore power to hundreds of thousands of homes hit by storms Dudley and Eunice last week. Authorities in England issued more than 300 flood warnings and alerts, while insurers in Germany and the Netherlands estimated the damage ran to nearly $1.9 billion. The German Aerospace Center said the storms would likely result in widespread damage to Europe’s already weakened forests.