At least 50 people have been killed in storms that have lashed¹ parts of Spain, Portugal and France, officials say.

强暴风袭击西班牙、葡萄牙和法国部分地区，造成至少50人死亡。

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Storm batters Europe

Forty-five of the victims died in France, where many drowned or were hit by parts of buildings or falling trees.

Winds of up to 140km/h (87mph) caused chaos³（混乱，混沌） as they moved from Portugal up through the Bay of Biscay.

The storm system is moving north-eastwards and areas of France bordering Belgium and Germany are on alert for heavy rain and high winds.

Power cuts

Worst affected⁴ have been the Vendee and Charente-Maritime regions on the western coast of France.

Huge waves and strong gusts⁵（狂风） battered⁶ many coastal⁷ towns, spreading floods inland and destroying buildings.

Residents took to their roofs in the Vendee region and police helicopters were in action attempting to locate and rescue them.

At least a dozen people are said to be missing in France and 59 others injured.

President Nicolas Sarkozy expressed his condolences（哀悼，慰问） to relatives of victims, and said that he would visit the stricken area on Monday.

The French Prime Minister Francois Fillon said France would formally declare the storm a natural disaster, freeing up funds to help communities rebuild.

He said that the priority now would be to make all the homeless people and those still threatened by rising waters safe.

He added that flood prevention defences would be strengthened.

"The government will, along with the local authorities, set up without delay a special plan to rebuild and strengthen the dykes⁸（堤坝） , " he said.

The storm system, named Xynthia, has put five of the 95 French departments on red alert - only the second such warning since a new emergency system was introduced in 2001.

More than a million homes in France have lost electricity, from the Brittany peninsula（半岛） in the west to the highlands of the Massif Central in the centre of the country.

According to the AFP news agency, the French national power company EDF said half a million customers were still without power at nightfall（黄昏，傍晚） on Sunday, and Mr Fillon said it would take several days to restore power everywhere.