Losses from winter storm Eleanor/Burglind could top €1.5bn

Insured losses due to wind from European winter storm Eleanor/Burglind will range between €1.1 billion and €1.6 billion, according to AIR Worldwide.

The majority of losses are expected in Germany, France, the UK, Belgium, Switzerland, and the Netherlands. Lower levels of losses are also expected in Austria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Norway, Poland, and Sweden.

Winter Storm Eleanor, known as Burglind in Germany, was the fifth named European winter storm of the season and fourth major storm to make landfall since December. It brought wind gusts of up to 100 mph (160 km/h) to Ireland causing damaging flooding along the Atlantic coast.

The system then passed across the UK, where the Met Office reported wind gusts of 100 mph (160 km/h) in Cumbria in the north of England and 89 mph (143 km/h) on the Isle of Wight off the South Coast; massive waves of 26 feet (8 meters) were recorded in Devon.

Eleanor/Burglind then made its way through Europe, bringing wind gusts of 91 mph (147 km/h) to Cambrai in northern France and 67 mph (108 km/h) to Paris-the strongest winds since storm Xynthia in 2010; gusts were recorded in Switzerland at 75 mph (120 km/h), 87 mph (140 km/h) in the Netherlands, and 98 mph (158 km/h) in Germany, and flooding was reported in impacted countries including Germany and France.

Structural damage due to strong winds was reported in Ireland, the UK, France, and Germany, where roofs were damaged or blown off, scaffolding was stripped from buildings, and signage was destroyed. Trees were blown down across continental Europe and the UK, and transportation disruption was rampant: a train car was blown off the tracks in Switzerland; train and ferry services were suspended in multiple countries; and hundreds of flights were canceled at Europe's busiest airports, including Charles de Gaulle in France, Schiphol in Amsterdam, Frankfurt International in Germany, and Zurich and Basel in Switzerland. Power outages were widespread across the impacted countries.

In addition to the widespread damage caused by wind, extensive flooding inundated streets and structures across Europe and in the UK, mainly in Ireland, where the River Shannon overflowed its banks in Limerick, and in England, where a seawall collapsed in Cornwall. In Germany, river levels in the Rhine area rose over the weekend, and overflow was observed in Bonn, Cologne, and Dusseldorf, and some street flooding was reported.

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