One woman killed and others injured as storms batter Germany

A woman has died and at least two other people were injured as severe storms caused extensive damage across parts of Germany.

In Waldorf, in the south-western state of Rhineland-Palatinate, a woman was struck by a falling tree and fatally injured, German news agency dpa reported on Thursday. Another woman suffered serious injuries in the accident, police said.

The women, aged 58 and 47, were walking together when a storm rolled in and they sought shelter under a covered seating area.

Both women were struck when a tree was uprooted and fell onto the seating area. The 58-year-old died at the scene, a police spokesperson said. The 47-year-old was taken to hospital.

A tornado struck the town of Furstenwalde, 49 miles south-east of Berlin. Roofs were torn off and several cars were damaged by falling trees, and one person was injured, according to dpa.

In Hohr-Grenzhausen in the Westerwald district in western Germany, a storm tore walls from buildings. At least two homes were affected, according to dpa.

Falling pieces of building facades and flying debris caused additional damage, and several trees were uprooted.

A widespread power outage also hit the area, while strong gusts of wind overturned a truck on the A61 road.

There were also numerous weather-related emergency calls overnight in Hesse, Thuringia and Bavaria.

A village festival in Kronach, Bavaria, was partially evacuated due to severe storms. About 3,500 guests had to leave the outdoor area of the festival grounds late Wednesday evening, local police said. They were able to continue celebrating inside the beer halls.

In Wetzlar, in Hesse, the storm damaged about 60 houses, according to the fire department. In some cases, pieces of roofing were blown as far as 100 metres away, dpa reported.

The German Weather Service warned that further severe storms could occur later in the day, particularly in Baden-Wurttemberg and Bavaria in southern Germany.