The powerful hurricane Ilenia, which swept over the northern and western regions of Germany on the night of Thursday paralyzed the movement of railway transport in the country.

In seven federal states - Lower Saxony, Bremen, Hamburg, Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Berlin and Brandenburg, the movement of long-distance trains has been suspended, writes Deutsche Welle.

The hurricane also greatly affected regional rail traffic. Flights are canceled or delayed almost everywhere. To the south of Hamburg, train traffic has been completely stopped. Due to the ongoing bad weather, the Deutsche Bahn railway concern does not exclude that interruptions will continue in the coming days.

In Germany's most populous federal state, North Rhine-Westphalia, all schools have been closed as a precaution. The land government urged parents, if possible, not to send their children to kindergartens. The state of Bremen has transferred schools to distance learning, schools are also closed in some areas of Lower Saxony. In a number of other Länder, authorities have allowed parents to decide for themselves whether to send their children to school.

The main impact of the hurricane fell on the northern part of Hesse, Saxony and the southern part of Brandenburg.

The German meteorological service (Deutscher Wetterdienst, DWD) said that the Ilenia will weaken from the middle of the day on February 17, but the respite is likely to be short.