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Northwest Europe Struggles with Floods and Snow after Latest Atlantic Storm

Members of French Civil Security rescue team walk in a flooded street to evacuate local residents by boat as the Aa River overflows in Arques near Saint-Omer, after heavy rain caused flooding in northern France, January 3, 2024. (Reuters)
Members of French Civil Security rescue team walk in a flooded street to evacuate local residents by boat as the Aa River overflows in Arques near Saint-Omer, after heavy rain caused flooding in northern France, January 3, 2024. (Reuters)
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Northwest Europe Struggles with Floods and Snow after Latest Atlantic Storm

Members of French Civil Security rescue team walk in a flooded street to evacuate local residents by boat as the Aa River overflows in Arques near Saint-Omer, after heavy rain caused flooding in northern France, January 3, 2024. (Reuters)
Members of French Civil Security rescue team walk in a flooded street to evacuate local residents by boat as the Aa River overflows in Arques near Saint-Omer, after heavy rain caused flooding in northern France, January 3, 2024. (Reuters)

Parts of northwestern Europe struggled on Wednesday to cope with the impact of the latest in a series of Atlantic storms which dumped rain or snow on already saturated ground, while northern Scandinavia experienced extreme cold.

In northern France, rescue crews helped evacuate residents from inundated homes in the town of Arques in the Pas de Calais department, a region that had flooded for the second time in two months after heavy rainfall.

Another 20-40 millimeters (0.85-1.7 inches) of rain was expected within hours, and a red alert indicated that the river Aa was close to breaking its banks.

"The first time, you think it's had luck, but the second time, it starts to hit your morale and your wallet," said Arques resident Anthony Richevin as he was being evacuated. "You start wondering about the future."

There are no large-scale evacuations planned in the region for the time being, Van Cauter added.

A ferry travelling from Norway to Denmark with about 900 passengers aboard was unable to dock in Copenhagen because of the storm and was waiting for the wind to drop although that may not happen before Thursday morning, shipping company DFDS said.

In Norway, the southern town of Kristiansand said it had closed its schools and cancelled all public buses following heavy snowfall.

The same storm, labelled Henk on either side of the North Sea, brought gales and heavy rain to parts of England and Wales on Tuesday, causing power outages, disrupting train travel and forcing the closure of major roads because of flooding.

Trees were blown onto roads and rail tracks, killing one motorist in southwestern England.

A 59-year-old woman died in Belgium's East Flanders province on Tuesday after being hit by a blown-away fence during a period of heavy rainfall in the country, local governor Carina Van Cauter said in a statement on Wednesday.

The Arctic village of Kvikkjokk recorded an overnight temperature of -43.6 Celsius (-46.5 Fahrenheit), Sweden's coldest for the month of January in 25 years, the Swedish Met Office said.

In Lapland in northern Finland, a woman went missing in a blizzard while out skiing on Tuesday and was later found dead in an avalanche. A search was continuing on Wednesday for her child, Finnish police said.

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Varieties

Macron Croons Classic Ballads at a State Dinner in Armenia for the French Leader

France's President Emmanuel Macron and Armenia's Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan attend the talks in Yerevan on May 5, 2026. (AFP)
France's President Emmanuel Macron and Armenia's Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan attend the talks in Yerevan on May 5, 2026. (AFP)
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Macron Croons Classic Ballads at a State Dinner in Armenia for the French Leader

France's President Emmanuel Macron and Armenia's Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan attend the talks in Yerevan on May 5, 2026. (AFP)
France's President Emmanuel Macron and Armenia's Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan attend the talks in Yerevan on May 5, 2026. (AFP)

French President Emmanuel Macron stole some of the spotlight from other world leaders in Armenia's capital this week when he crooned classic ballads, including “La Bohème,” at a glitzy state dinner.

Macron was joined by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on drums and celebrated jazz musician Vahagn Hayrapetyan on piano on Monday night in Yerevan. In addition to “La Bohème,” which was recorded by Armenian-French musician Charles Aznavour in 1965, Macron also sang “Les Feuilles Mortes" by Yves Montand.

The event at Armenia’s presidential residence on Monday night was held in Macron's honor. The French leader was in town for a state visit that coincided with a gathering of the European Political Community and a historic European Union summit.

Pashinyan, who took office in 2018, more regularly flexes his musical prowess as part of his musical group Varchaband. It held its debut concert in Yerevan at the end of January.

The Armenian leader is also well known for posting videos of himself listening to music on Instagram, with his musical taste seemingly spanning from Taylor Swift to Travis Scott and A$AP Rocky.

Varieties

Sherlock Holmes Fans Recreate Fateful Duel at Swiss Falls

British motoring author Philip Porter, dressed as Sherlock Holmes poses during a visit by members of the Sherlock Holmes Society of London to the Reichenbach Falls near Meiringen on May 3, 2026. (AFP)
British motoring author Philip Porter, dressed as Sherlock Holmes poses during a visit by members of the Sherlock Holmes Society of London to the Reichenbach Falls near Meiringen on May 3, 2026. (AFP)
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Sherlock Holmes Fans Recreate Fateful Duel at Swiss Falls

British motoring author Philip Porter, dressed as Sherlock Holmes poses during a visit by members of the Sherlock Holmes Society of London to the Reichenbach Falls near Meiringen on May 3, 2026. (AFP)
British motoring author Philip Porter, dressed as Sherlock Holmes poses during a visit by members of the Sherlock Holmes Society of London to the Reichenbach Falls near Meiringen on May 3, 2026. (AFP)

Immaculately dressed in Victorian costume, Sherlock Holmes devotees gathered at the Reichenbach Falls in Switzerland to recreate the intrepid detective's fateful duel with his nemesis Professor Moriarty, 135 years on.

Captivated by British writer Arthur Conan Doyle's evocative world of villains, sleuths, fog, gas lamps and tweed, around 60 members of the Sherlock Holmes Society of London made the pilgrimage to the hallowed destination.

The spectacular scene is where Holmes and Moriarty clashed on a precarious high ledge, apparently falling to their deaths on May 4, 1891.

The group's three-day journey through Holmes-related sites in Switzerland wound up at Meiringen in the Bernese Oberland, for a funicular ride on Sunday up to the thundering Reichenbach Falls, which tumble 120 meters (400 feet) into a pool below.

Hats of all varieties, twirled moustaches, lavish dresses and walking canes abounded, as each came dressed as an individual character from the stories, including the missing rugby player, the king of Bohemia, and Mrs. Hudson, Holmes's landlady at 221B Baker Street, London.

"It does transform you, just wearing the clothes, and hunching a bit," said British lawyer Peter Horrocks, top-hatted and clad in black as the sinister crime lord Moriarty.

"This is so atmospheric," he said amid the roar and spray, insisting it "absolutely" brings Sherlockians closer to the story.

Doyle killed off his beloved detective at this spot in his 1893 short story "The Adventure of the Final Problem".

But such was the public outcry, Doyle was forced to resurrect him -- and the affection for Holmes endures to this day.

- 'Tears in my eyes' -

With a magnifying glass in one hand and a pipe in the other, motoring author Philip Porter played Holmes.

He hailed the "unique appeal" of Doyle's stories, "full of Victorian atmosphere, the triumph of good over evil, and some wonderful characters" to draw in devotees.

"We have very little in common in real life, but we are brought together by the Sherlock Holmes canon," he told AFP.

Recreating the duel, Holmes and Moriarty grappled, finally holding the stance depicted in Sidney Paget's 1893 illustration as the pair seemingly tumbled.

Doctor Watson then walked by, his shouts of "Holmes!" echoing off the rocks, before discovering the letter the detective left for him to find -- and realizing his dear friend had plummeted to his doom.

"When Watson found the note, frankly I had tears in my eyes. I found that really moving," said Helene Vrot, from near Paris, who dressed in the 1895 "very short-lived fashion for huge sleeves".

"It's an opportunity to make memories with people who have the same kind of mind," she told AFP of the trip.

For JeanMarie Zubia, from the US state of Washington, "it's a total immersion" into the Victorian era.

Her character was Laura Lyons from "The Hound of the Baskervilles", and she reveled in the collective for the detective.

"It's amazing to be surrounded by all the other Sherlockians here, because they get to talk non-stop about what I'm so passionate about... the minutiae that goes into every single story," she said.

- 'My dream place' -

One sweat-soaked trail runner did a double-take as he dashed straight into the costumed throng, while Chinese first-time visitor Kitty -- making her own solo anniversary pilgrimage -- could not believe her eyes.

Wearing a Holmes-style deerstalker hat, the 24-year-old Sherlock fanatic suddenly walked right into beloved characters come to life.

"Wow! It's very lucky of me to meet Mr. Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson and Professor Moriarty and Colonel Moran!" the enthralled Manchester University robotics student said.

"This is my dream place. It's beautiful -- just like Watson wrote in his diary."

The organized visit was celebrating the more than 1,000-strong London society's 75th anniversary.

The trip's coordinator Markus Geisser told AFP nearly half the visitors were on their first Holmes trip, showing "travelling to Switzerland in a Victorian costume is still something that people actually like to do".

Dressed as the devil-may-care German spy Von Bork, he said the multinational society and its events were a chance to meet like-minded people, adding: "in my case, I met my wife."

Varieties

A Taiwanese Town Embraces a Slow Pace of Life Through a Snail Race

An owner decorates the snail racers with flowers during a snail race in Fenglin town, Hualien County, eastern of Taiwan, Saturday, May 2, 2026. (AP)
An owner decorates the snail racers with flowers during a snail race in Fenglin town, Hualien County, eastern of Taiwan, Saturday, May 2, 2026. (AP)
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A Taiwanese Town Embraces a Slow Pace of Life Through a Snail Race

An owner decorates the snail racers with flowers during a snail race in Fenglin town, Hualien County, eastern of Taiwan, Saturday, May 2, 2026. (AP)
An owner decorates the snail racers with flowers during a snail race in Fenglin town, Hualien County, eastern of Taiwan, Saturday, May 2, 2026. (AP)

The Taiwanese town of Fenglin has grown a reputation as a place where life moves slowly and people can catch their breath.

Rather than push against this rhythm, the town of around 10,000 has chosen to embrace it and make it part of its identity. Enter the snails.

Fenglin has been putting on snail races as a way to celebrate its focus on a slower, sustainable lifestyle that values healthcare, longevity and community connections while bringing in more tourists in the wake of a strong earthquake in 2024 that dampened travel in surrounding areas.

“The earthquake two years ago had a relatively big impact on tourism because people are worried an earthquake may happen again,” said Hsu Lu, a 32-year-old resident. “Many people have left Hualien because of earthquakes,” Hsu said, referring to the surrounding county and the site of frequent quakes.

Snails are one way to bring tourists back, even if slowly.

Fenglin has associated itself with snails since 2014, when it joined the Cittaslow international network of small cities focused on quality of life and locally sourced foods. Cittaslow's symbol is a snail carrying an assortment of buildings on its back.

The designation of a slow city seemed to fit Fenglin, whose population has shrunk threefold over the past few decades. Today, it is also an example of Taiwan's “super-aged” society, with more than 20% of its residents older than 65.

To help reinvigorate local tourism after the April 2024 earthquake, which killed 19 people and injured more than 1,100, Fenglin residents decided to host a snail race the following month, said organizer Cheng Jen-shou.

“We thought that our event could attract people, and that would be a small help,” he said.

This year, the town held the third edition of the race over the May Day holiday.

Several dozen enthusiastic residents and tourists attended the event, which featured six snail races spaced out over two days. The winners from each race competed in the final, but not before posing in front of their audiences while slowly being pulled on a piece of plywood across a green carpet as their fans cheered them on.

Snail race attracts dozens from near and far

Li Cheng-wen, a 70-year-old retiree from Fenglin, brought several snails to the race. He caught them in his vegetable garden snacking on his leafy greens, and instead of killing them as some farmers do, he decided to raise them as pets, he said. He feeds them slices of bananas, papaya and vegetable leaves and showers them daily.

“As to the criteria for choosing snails for the race, I usually select those that are very active and pleasing to the eye,” Li said.

Kelvin Hong and Tiara Lin also brought a sightly snail to the race. The couple traveled all the way from the southern city of Kaohsiung, about a five-hour drive away, together with their 2-year-old daughter, Murphy, and their giant African snail, Aquaman.

The couple had signed up Aquaman for a previous race in 2024, but just as they were headed for Fenglin, Lin went into labor. Now the whole family returned to cheer on Aquaman.

Despite being larger than most of its homegrown competitors — which had been picked out from local gardens or the side of the road — Aquaman was rather slow.

Once the race started, it and nine other snails were placed near the center of a round table covered with a thin vinyl sheet. The first to reach the edge of the table was crowned the winner.

The absolute champion was Guage, or Brother Snail. Its owner, 39-year-old Tanya Lin from Hualien, had been raising the snail since 2024, when it also won one race.

This year, Brother Snail crossed the 33-centimeter (13-inch) tablecloth in 3 minutes and 3 seconds. That performance earned it the top spot on a tiny stadium and a prize of organic sweet potato leaves.

Besides the snail race, the local government has been trying to attract tourism by offering guided e-bike tours with stops at historic tobacco barns, Japanese colonial-era buildings and a Hakka-minority museum.

The idea of a slower pace of life was compelling enough to attract university students Annette Lin and Tanya Liu, who rode the train for about 30 minutes from Hualien on Saturday to check out the snail race and Fenglin’s slow vibes.

The friends found the competition unique and enjoyed Fenglin’s leisurely pace — but only as a respite from the busy city life.

“I think for travel or a trip, it’s a great choice,” Liu said. “But maybe living here would not really be my dream choice.”