Germany bracing for hurricane-force Storm Xaver

There's no relief from a hurricane-force storm as daylight breaks in Germany.

It blasted over Northern Germany Thursday and Friday leaving rough and choppy seas, a trail of damaged property and disrupted traffic in the air and on the rails and roads.

Germany's northern port of Hamburg was preparing for a direct hit, which some forecasters said could be as powerful as a storm that killed 315 people in 1962.

(SOUNDBITE)(German) AMKE EILERS, BARTENDER SAYING:

"We brought everything we could carry upstairs. We started boiling the kettle to make some grog and now we are waiting and hoping the water won't come in. We could not get any sandbags because the basement is already flooded, much quicker than expected. That is all we could do."

Meteorologists say this could be the worst storm to hit the continent in years.