13 people have been killed in one of the biggest storms across Europe in years.

As many of seven lost their lives in Germany, in the UK 4 people died- including Waterford man Donal Drohan - while in France one woman was swept out to see and in The Netherlands another woman died after being crushed.

Up to 61,000 British homes are still without power following the storm. Authorities there are continuing to clear away debris and fallen trees while engineers work to restore power and rail services slowly return to normal.

Dubbed 'St. Jude', after the patron saint of lost causes, the storm caused transport disruption on road, rail, air and sea as it ripped across the UK.

Cars seen damaged by a fallen tree in London (Facebook/Eric Keogh)

National Rail there said it was not yet able to say how services would be affected today, but urged travellers to check with their train operator, while ferry services from Dover are still delayed because of rough seas.

The storm is now over Scandinavia and will today be replaced with far lighter winds and rain, but dozens of areas in southern England still remain on flood alert, the Environment Agency said.

Insurers are counting the cost of the storm, but say it is too early to tell whether it will compare with the multi-billion pound hits caused by previous severe weather events.

Aidan Kerr is from the Association of British Insurers. He has moved to reassure homeowners that insurance costs will not jump on the back of the storm.

On Monday morning, winds of up to 100mph swept through the South West, South, South East, the Midlands and the East of England after first hitting land in the early hours.

Up to 2.4in of rain - half the monthly average - fell in a just few hours during the storm in areas including Hampshire and Devon, causing flash-floods.

A van with a cracked windscreen in London (Facebook/Eric Keogh)

Met Office spokeswoman Laura Young warned that the impacts from the storm are still around and urged the public to remain alert.

John Lee, a forecaster for MeteoGroup, said it was the most powerful storm in years.

"There will no doubt be some disruption still following the damage caused by strong winds and heavy rain, but the weather will be quite different" he said.

"It will be blustery with some showers, especially in the west, but a lot lighter.On Friday there is an indication that stormy weather could return, but it's likely to bring heavy rain rather than strong winds" he added.

Main image: Facebook/Eric Keogh