In Britain at least five people have died in wild weather that has provoked travel chaos at one of the busiest times of the year.. <br /><br />Hundreds of travellers have been stranded by flight cancellations and power cuts to airports.<br /><br />Gatwick, south of London, was one of the most badly affected, but the situation was made worse by planned rail engineering works, meaning no trains to and from the airport.<br /><br />Some passengers waited all day, then found out their delayed flights had been cancelled.<br /><br />Val Kelly is hoping to catch a plane, eventually.<br /><br />“There’s no flights, there’s nowhere to go. Nobody’s telling us anything.”<br /><br />The chaos has been caused by heavy rain and high winds. Across the south of the country, roads have been cut and low-lying land has been flooded.<br /><br />Motorists were stranded when rivers burst their banks. Some cars have just been abandoned. <br /><br />In Brittany, north west France, it was a similar situation. <br /><br />Due to the heavy rain, rivers here burst their banks, flooding towns and villages. 17 French Departments are on alert. <br /><br />Over one hundred thousand households are currently without power after trees fell on power lines.<br /><br />It is estimated three days will be needed to get everyone back on, so for some it will be Christmas by candlelight.<br /><br />In the north-western Spanish province of Galicia, high winds took down road signs, damaged property and caused power cuts. <br /><br />Across Spain 44 regions are on alert. <br /><br />In Bilbao in the Basque Country flights were cancelled due to high winds.
