Fiercest July storm ever causes Dutch transport chaos

Roads were closed by falling trees, dozens of flights were delayed at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport and authorities warned travellers not to take to the road as the strongest July storm since records began swept the Netherlands on Saturday.

Gusts of up to 121 kmh were measured in the low-lying seaboard country's west coast, prompting the country's meteorological service to issue a "Code Red" weather warning, the most serious, as transport links were thrown into chaos.

In the capital Amsterdam, no trains were running at the central station, and the gale force winds and lashing rain also forced authorities to shut down the city's tram network as gusts felled some trees in the city.

In The Hague, seat of the country's government, emergency services warned that response times could be slowed because of the flood of storm-related calls. There were no reports of casualties by 1400 GMT.