At least four of the victims were killed by trees that crushed their cars in the eastern state of Brandenburg and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, as well as the cities of Berlin and Hamburg.

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Berlin’s fire brigade declared a state of emergency and issued a warning to residents to stay indoors as storm Xavier ripped its way through the north of the country.

The storm reached category 3, on a 4-point scale. At one point the German Weather Service (DWD) said the storm reached hurricane-strength wind speeds of between 105 and 115 kilometers (65 and 71 miles) per hour.

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Hundreds of commuters were stranded when trains ground to a halt because most railway lines were blocked with fallen trees. Deutsche Bahn canceled long-distance trains to and from Berlin as well as services in Lower Saxony, Schleswig-Holstein and Bremen and commuter trains in Hamburg.

Bermand and Hanover airports canceled some international flights as a result of Xavier and bus services were restricted.

The storm is forecast to move eastward toward Poland overnight.