2nd Storm Hits Battered W. Europe

Another powerful storm hit France on Monday as Western Europe struggled to recover from freak weekend gales that ripped trees from the ground, toppled walls and killed more than 70 people.

France, with 44 victims, bore the brunt of the devastation. The death toll was likely to rise, as high winds were expected to continue into early today.

Prime Minister Lionel Jospin, who flew back early from a visit to Egypt to inspect the damage, declared the affected area a disaster zone, meaning insurance payments can be rushed through.

“This storm is a catastrophe without precedent. It was an exceptional, cataclysmic event with massive consequences,” Jospin said.

In Paris, tens of thousands of people returning to work Monday had to trample through streets strewn with debris, broken glass and uprooted trees. Traffic lights were bent, newspaper kiosks blown over and cultural monuments damaged.

Although weather conditions in Paris and much of the country were calm Monday, the second storm hit southwestern France late in the evening with winds gusting past 90 mph.

Sunday’s storm toppled or damaged 60,000 trees in two forests on the city’s outskirts, Vincennes and the Bois de Boulogne, and 2,000 more along the city’s streets.

Slabs of roofing on Notre Dame cathedral were blown off, and a stained-glass window at the Sainte-Chapelle was shattered by flying stonework. Worst hit among France’s cultural monuments was the royal palace and park at Versailles, where the roof was damaged, windows were broken, and 10,000 trees were uprooted, including 200-year-old cedars planted around the time of the French Revolution.

“It looks as if a dinosaur has trampled over it,” chief gardener Joel Cottin said.

The National Fund for Historic Sites and Monuments estimated that it will take $62 million to $77 million to repair damaged cultural monuments.

In Germany, 17 people died, most of them in the region across the Rhine from France. Fallen trees blocked roads, and 1,000 homes in Bavaria were without power.

In neighboring Switzerland, at least 13 people were killed and several were injured, mostly by falling trees. Initial estimates said damage to buildings could reach $95 million.