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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

Curtain Falls on the Romance of India's Single-screen Cinemas

Researchers estimate that India had around 14,000 single-screen halls in the 1980s. Only around 2,000 remain today. Idrees MOHAMMED / AFP
Researchers estimate that India had around 14,000 single-screen halls in the 1980s. Only around 2,000 remain today. Idrees MOHAMMED / AFP
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Curtain Falls on the Romance of India's Single-screen Cinemas

Researchers estimate that India had around 14,000 single-screen halls in the 1980s. Only around 2,000 remain today. Idrees MOHAMMED / AFP
Researchers estimate that India had around 14,000 single-screen halls in the 1980s. Only around 2,000 remain today. Idrees MOHAMMED / AFP

The demolition has begun at Bengaluru's Urvashi Cinema, once a 1,200-seat movie palace where generations of filmgoers cheered and whistled, another casualty of India's vanishing single-screen era.

"The theater came up in the 1970s... I was so happy when it opened," said Manjunath, watching as seats were ripped out and strewn outside.

Manjunath, who uses one name, recalled its glory days, when the shop he runs opposite was packed with customers buying snacks before and after shows.

"That was the rush... now I have a lot of free time," he said. "But what to do? There is barely any crowd."

The peeling facades, faded signs and cavernous auditoriums of such cinemas are remnants of a time when going to the movies was itself the main event.

"It is a completely different experience," said photographer Hemant Chaturvedi, 58, who has documented what remains during a seven-year odyssey, photographing 1,350 single-screen cinemas across 1,000 towns.

His photographs capture not only the movie houses but their ornate facades and decay -- a record of a cultural landscape disappearing as cinemas are demolished, converted into multiplexes or left to crumble.

- 'Ecosystem is fading' -

"People would be cheering, jumping on the seats, even throwing money at the screen," Chaturvedi said.

The old halls offered a collective, interactive experience, with fans applauding at the hero's entrance, clapping to romantic songs and shouting at dramatic twists.

"Now that old ecosystem is fading, and the charm is being lost," he said.

India's single-screen cinemas have been steadily squeezed by multiplexes, streaming, rising property costs and the expense of maintaining ageing buildings and equipment.

Researchers estimate that India had around 14,000 single-screen halls in the 1980s. Only around 2,000 remain today.

Many of the old halls could accommodate around 1,000 people, creating a communal atmosphere rarely found in today's multiplexes.

The decline has also changed the way Indians experience films. New halls offer air conditioning, reclining seats and food delivered to the seat.

"To me, the new cinemas have lost the charm," said Chaturvedi, a former Bollywood cinematographer who worked on hit movies during a three-decade career.

"The multiplexes are a generic, cold experience."

- 'Old times' -

Some of the old cinemas have been restored and renovated, and the single-screen experience still has its devotees.

In Bengaluru, Mukunda Cinemas still draws crowds -- even for early-morning shows before work.

Hundreds lined up before dawn for a recent 6:00 am screening of the latest release of film star Yash, who is hugely popular in India's Kannada-language cinema.

Santosh, a 47-year-old businessman who uses one name, queued with hundreds of others as crowds set off fireworks outside while waiting for the show.

"Only in the single screen theaters can they take the cinema to the next level, it increases the tradition of cinema," Santosh said, as cheers and whistles reverberated through the packed hall before the film began.

Veerain Reddy, the third generation of his family running the 50-year-old theater, said maintaining the establishment "was not an easy task".

Inflation, rising costs and "so much competition" have made business tough.

"But people who are really passionate are still trying to maintain these single-screen theaters, where people come to watch and celebrate cinema," he told AFP.

Another survivor in Mumbai -- formerly known as Bombay -- is the Regal Cinema, an Art Deco hall that opened in 1933.

"The rest of them feel very artificial, commercial, very blingy," said 23-year-old fan Vanshika. "But Bombay has little places which remind us of the old times."

Varieties

GEA Chairman Announces October 21 Launch for Riyadh Season 2026

Turki Alalshikh, Chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Turki Alalshikh, Chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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GEA Chairman Announces October 21 Launch for Riyadh Season 2026

Turki Alalshikh, Chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Turki Alalshikh, Chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Chairman of the Board of Directors of the General Entertainment Authority (GEA) Turki Alalshikh announced that Riyadh Season 2026 will open on Wednesday, October 21, featuring a 10-week program of championships, concerts, performances, and entertainment experiences, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Saturday.

Alalshikh made the announcement in a promotional video previewing the season's sporting, entertainment, and arts events, which he said would reinforce Riyadh's standing as a destination for premier events and audiences from around the world.

The seventh edition's lineup includes world-class boxing and wrestling matches, UFC bouts, and the Six Kings Slam tennis tournament, alongside concerts, theatrical and comedy performances, and events designed for children and families.

Boulevard World returns as one of the season's principal zones, gathering global cultures and destinations in a single location, while Boulevard City opens with new content and Wonder Garden offers a range of rides and activities. Other zones and events include The Groves, the Farmers' Market, and the Ana Arabia exhibition at VIA Riyadh, with further programs spread across multiple locations in the capital.

The season runs under the theme "Big Time," drawing visitors from Saudi Arabia and abroad.

Varieties

New Road Lanes Open in Makkah to Ease Congestion, Aid Pilgrims

The expansion includes an additional 1.5-kilometer stretch on the Third Ring Road connecting the Prince Mutib intersection to the Grand Mosque intersection via the Prince Sultan intersection - SPA
The expansion includes an additional 1.5-kilometer stretch on the Third Ring Road connecting the Prince Mutib intersection to the Grand Mosque intersection via the Prince Sultan intersection - SPA
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New Road Lanes Open in Makkah to Ease Congestion, Aid Pilgrims

The expansion includes an additional 1.5-kilometer stretch on the Third Ring Road connecting the Prince Mutib intersection to the Grand Mosque intersection via the Prince Sultan intersection - SPA
The expansion includes an additional 1.5-kilometer stretch on the Third Ring Road connecting the Prince Mutib intersection to the Grand Mosque intersection via the Prince Sultan intersection - SPA

The Royal Commission for Makkah City and Holy Sites has opened traffic on several newly developed lanes along the Third Ring Road and Prince Saud Al Faisal Road, reducing travel times by more than 90%.

The expansion includes an additional 1.5-kilometer stretch on the Third Ring Road connecting the Prince Mutib intersection to the Grand Mosque intersection via the Prince Sultan intersection, SPA reported.

Traffic flow was also inaugurated on the final section of Prince Saud Al Faisal Road, linking the Prince Mohammed bin Salman axis to Abdulqadir Koshak Street through the Prince Naif bin Abdulaziz intersection.

These openings are part of integrated infrastructure projects designed to ease traffic congestion, improve road safety, and streamline access for residents, visitors, and pilgrims during the Hajj and Umrah seasons.