Sawt Falasteen - Record storm cost up to 100 mn euros in damage: Dutch insurers

Storm Poly packed howling winds of up to 146 kilometres per hour (90 miles per hour), toppling trees and forcing the cancellation of 400 flights from Amsterdam's Schiphol airport, one of Europe's busiest hubs.

The Dutch Association of Insurers said that, according to initial estimates, "damage to homes, cars and commercial buildings due to storm Poly amounts to 50 to 100 million euros."

"Poly has wreaked havoc and the impact is major," association director Richard Weurding added in a statement.

He stressed the figure was an initial assessment based on historical data, adding "it can still increase."

Meteorologists said the storm was the strongest on record to hit the Netherlands in the summer months and issued a rare "code red" warning for millions of people in the low-lying nation to stay indoors.

A 51-year-old woman was killed when a tree fell on her car in the Dutch city of Haarlem, authorities said.

A 64-year-old woman died after being struck by a falling tree in the German town of Rhede near the Dutch border.

Two men were seriously injured in Amsterdam, one when a tree fell on his car, while a second was believed to have been hit by falling power lines, local media said.

A tree also fell on a houseboat in one of Amsterdam's historic canals, while another toppled onto a tram in The Hague, though no one was hurt.

Flights resumed at Schiphol on Thursday, but the airport warned of busier than usual wait times at check-in or for security checks.

O.Mousa--SF-PST