Extreme cold leaves thousands without power in Nordic countries as floods persist in Germany

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Flooding caused by Storm Henk’s torrential rain has swamped properties in central England. In Tewkesbury, one of the towns affected by the flood, people were were evacuated after flood waters took hold. (Jan 5.)

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CORRECTS YEAR TO 2024 Snow is cleared with wheel loaders as cars and trucks are recovered and people are evacuated with the Home Guard’s tracked vehicle at Ekeröd on the E22 between Hörby and Kristianstad in southern Sweden, Thursday, Jan. 4, 2024. Up to 300 cars stuck in a queue due to large amounts of snow that fell on the roadway and limited access, according to the police. (Johan Nilsson/TT News Agency via AP)

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A large number of trucks are stuck on the E22 at Linderöd in southern Sweden, Thursday, Jan. 4, 2024. Hundreds of cars and trucks were stuck in queues due to large amounts of snow that had fallen on the roadway and restricted access, according to the police. (Johan Nilsson/TT News Agency via AP)

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A bus stop sign appears above flooded water in the Trier district, Germany, Thursday Jan. 4, 2024, after heavy rainfall caused the river Moselle to rise further. (Thomas Frey/dpa via AP)

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Flooded streets in Cochem, Germany, Thursday Jan. 4, 2024, after heavy rainfall caused the river Moselle to rise further. (Thomas Frey/dpa via AP)

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Flooded streets in Cochem, Germany, Thursday Jan. 4, 2024, after heavy rainfall caused the river Moselle to rise further. (Thomas Frey/dpa via AP)

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A woman walks a dog in Helsinki, Finland, Thursday Jan. 4, 2024. Temperatures have fallen below minus 40 degrees Celsius in the Nordic region for a second day in a row, with the coldest January temperature recorded in Swedish Lapland in 25 years. (Heikki Saukkomaa/Lehtikuva via AP)

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A warmly-dressed couple and pet dog walk by the sea on a pier in southern Helsinki, Finland, Thursday, Jan. 4, 2024. Finland’s coldest temperature last night was in Northern Lapland’s town of Enonteki’ with -42 degrees Celsius. (Heikki Saukkomaa/Lehtikuva via AP)

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A trailer is under water as the river Aa floods the area in Blendecques, northern France, Thursday, Jan.4, 2024. Heavy rains have pummeled the northern Pas-de-Calais and Nord regions since Sunday, forcing the evacuation of about 200 people and knocking out power to 10,000 households, according to local authorities. (AP Photo/Matthieu Mirville)

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A water mill is pictured as the river Aa floods the area in Blendecques, northern France, Thursday, Jan.4, 2024. Heavy rains have pummeled the northern Pas-de-Calais and Nord regions since Sunday, forcing the evacuation of about 200 people and knocking out power to 10,000 households, according to local authorities. (AP Photo/Matthieu Mirville)

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A road leading to the village of Blendecques is closed as the river Aa floods the area in Blendecques, northern France, Thursday, Jan.4, 2024. Heavy rains have pummeled the northern Pas-de-Calais and Nord regions since Sunday, forcing the evacuation of about 200 people and knocking out power to 10,000 households, according to local authorities. (AP Photo/Matthieu Mirville)

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People ski in the town of Akaslompolo, in Finnish Lapland, Thursday Jan. 4, 2024. Temperatures have fallen below minus 40 degrees Celsius in the Nordic region for a second day in a row, with the coldest January temperature recorded in Swedish Lapland in 25 years. (Irene Stachon/Lehtikuva via AP)

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People walk through the snow in the town of Akaslompolo, in Finnish Lapland, Thursday Jan. 4, 2024. Temperatures have fallen below minus 40 degrees Celsius in the Nordic region for a second day in a row, with the coldest January temperature recorded in Swedish Lapland in 25 years. (Irene Stachon/Lehtikuva via AP)

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CORRECTS COUNTRY TO DENMARK AND SOURCE TO RITZAU SCANPIX - A number of trucks and cars are stuck on the E45 motorway near Randers in Jutland, Denmark, Thursday, Jan. 4, 2024. Temperatures have fallen below minus 40 degrees Celsius in the Nordic region for a second day in a row, with the coldest January temperature recorded in Swedish Lapland in 25 years. The weather -– cold with snow and gale-force winds -- has disrupted transportation throughout the Nordic region. In stark contrast, mild temperatures, strong winds and heavy rain further south in western Europe caused flooding and at least one death. (Bo Amstrup/Ritzau Scanpix via AP)

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A skiers on the tracks of Oittaa skiing park in Espoo, Finland on Thursday, Jan. 4, 2024. Temperatures have fallen below minus 40 degrees Celsius in the Nordic region for a second day in a row, with the coldest January temperature recorded in Swedish Lapland in 25 years. The weather -– cold with snow and gale-force winds -- has disrupted transportation throughout the Nordic region. In stark contrast, mild temperatures, strong winds and heavy rain further south in western Europe caused flooding and at least one death. (Vesa Moilanen/Lehtikuva via AP)

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Buildings flooded by the Moselle river in Pünderich, Germany, Thursday, Jan. 4, 2024. (Thomas Frey/dpa via AP)

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Trees are seen in a flooded area of the Elbe Valley, near Boizenburg, Germany, Thursday, Jan. 4, 2024. (Jens Büttner/dpa via AP)

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Houses are seen in a flooded area in Lilienthal, Germany, Thursday, Jan. 4, 2024. (Sina Schuldt/dpa via AP)

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Houses are seen in a flooded area in Lilienthal, Germany, Thursday, Jan. 4, 2024. (Sina Schuldt/dpa via AP)

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Rescue workers evacuate a person as the Aa river floods Arques, northern France, Thursday, Jan.4, 2024. Heavy rains have pummeled the northern Pas-de-Calais and Nord regions since Sunday, forcing the evacuation of about 200 people and knocking out power to 10,000 households, according to local authorities. (AP Photo/Matthieu Mirville)

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Swans swim in a street flooded by the Severn river in Worcester, Worcestershire county, England, Thursday, Jan. 4, 2024. (David Davies/PA via AP)

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North Parade street is flooded by the Severn river in Worcester, Worcestershire county, England, Thursday, Jan. 4, 2024. (David Davies/PA via AP)

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Birds sit on a gates of the playing fields at King’s School flooded by the Severn river in Worcester, Worcestershire county, England, Thursday, Jan. 4, 2024. (David Davies/PA via AP)

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Waves hit the Baltic Sea’s beach in Binz, Rügen island, Germany, Thursday, Jan.4, 2024. (Stefan Sauer/dpa via AP)

By JAN M. OLSEN

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Extremely cold temperatures compounded by gale-force winds and snow wreaked havoc across the Nordic region Thursday, leaving thousands without power while others braved the cold for hours stuck in their cars along clogged highways.

Heavy rains in Germany, France and the Netherlands again caused floods in regions that have seen persistent flooding in the last two weeks. One death was reported in France.

The deep freeze disrupted transportation throughout the Nordic region amid reports of traffic chaos following closures of sections of highways and major roads. Problems with rail service have also been reported.

Electricity was cut to some 4,000 homes in Arctic Sweden where temperatures plummeted to minus 38 degrees Celsius (minus 36.4 degrees Fahrenheit), according to Swedish public radio. In the southern part of the country, motorists were stuck in their cars or evacuated to a nearby sporting complex where they spent the night.

In neighboring Denmark, police urged motorists to avoid unnecessary trips as wind and snow battered the northern and western parts of the country.

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In Finnish Lapland, the municipality of Enontekio, near the border with Norway and Sweden, recorded the country’s lowest temperature this winter on Thursday at minus 43.1 degrees C (minus 45.6 degrees F). Meteorologists are forecasting even colder temperatures for the rest of the week.

A ferry sailing between the capitals of Norway and Denmark finally docked in Copenhagen on Thursday after some 900 passengers spent the night aboard the vessel, which had been idling in the Oresund Strait between Denmark and southern Sweden. On Wednesday, weather hampered the Crown Seaways vessel from sailing into the Copenhagen harbor.

In Germany, heavy rain has resumed in regions that have seen persistent flooding over the past two weeks. Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Thursday made his second visit this week to inspect a dike and a sandbag-filling facility in the eastern town of Sangerhausen.

After several days of rain and rising waters, several towns in northern France were left underwater Thursday. Hundreds of people have been evacuated in recent days. The area was also hit by flooding in November and December, and some towns still hadn’t recovered. Government ministers are traveling to the area on Thursday.

A 73-year-old man was found dead in his partially submerged car near the city of Nantes, France’s national gendarme service said. He was reported missing Tuesday after he left his home to buy bread and didn’t return, and was found Wednesday as waters began receding in the area.

In Britain, there was little respite from the bad weather with widespread flooding across central England, particularly in the vicinity of the River Trent in Nottinghamshire, and more heavy rain hitting southern areas.

As of Thursday evening, more than 220 flood warnings, where flooding is expected, remain in place across England, while almost 300 flood alerts, where flooding is possible, are also in place.

The flooding comes just days after Storm Henk, named by the official weather services of Britain, Ireland and the Netherlands, battered large areas of England and Wales, leaving the ground saturated and prone to flooding.

It also emerged Thursday that an 87-year-old woman died near Oxford on Tuesday during Storm Henk when she drove into a fallen tree that had been reported fallen to police about 90 minutes earlier. The local Thames Valley Police force has referred itself for independent investigation.

Earlier this week, a driver also died after a tree fell on his car in western England, and in the Netherlands police in Eindhoven said strong winds may have played a role in the death of a 75-year-old man who fell off his bicycle late Tuesday.

The government in low-lying Netherlands, which also faced extremely high water levels in rivers and lakes, said it would send pumps to France to help it tackle widespread flooding.

“It has rained a lot recently, which means that the water in France can no longer be drained properly. In many places, rivers have already burst their banks. That is why it is important to help each other get rid of the water as quickly as possible,” Infrastructure and Water Minister Mark Harbers said in a statement.

The Dutch emergency pumps can each process 5 million liters (1.3 million gallons) of water per hour.

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Associated Press writers Angela Charlton in Paris, Geir Moulson in Berlin, Mike Corder in Amsterdam, Pan Pylas in London, and Jari Tanner in Helsinki contributed to this report.