Although the Danish Meteorological Institute had predicted that the storm, named Babbitt, would cause storm surge and many precautions were taken, the mass of water was very large in several places. For example, the flood gate burst in the town of Bristow in the South New Zealand region and water levels in the municipality of Sonderborg rose to more than two metres.
The area around the historic town of Haderslev in the Southern Denmark region has been evacuated. “The situation on the coast is now so serious that it is very dangerous to stay there. All affected areas are being evacuated and the emergency service is withdrawing its staff,” the municipality wrote on Facebook.
The storm has already caused the cancellation of 140 flights on Friday. Summer homes on the coast were flooded, trees were uprooted and residents placed sandbags to try to contain the water. “Especially at midnight and in the hours that followed, the storm developed into complete horror weather,” Danish public broadcaster DR said.
About the author
Jeroen Visser is the Scandinavia and Finland correspondent De Volkskrant. Lives in Stockholm. He was previously a Southeast Asia correspondent. He is the author of the book North Korea never says sorry.
The storm had already caused serious damage elsewhere in Europe on Friday, especially in Scotland. Electricity was cut off for tens of thousands of families. A 56-year-old man was killed when a tree fell on a truck. A 57-year-old woman drowned after falling into the river. There were also victims in England and Germany.
Storm Babette formed earlier this week over the Atlantic Ocean off Spain and Portugal. The Danish Meteorological Institute expects strong winds and rising water levels throughout the weekend. Disturbances are also expected in southern Sweden.
