Mother Nature took aim at Europe this week, battering Scotland, England, Germany, Sweden and the surrounding region with strong winds, heavy rain, tidal surges and snow. Public transportation has been upended by the storm, known as Xaver, and hundreds were stranded in airports as flights were canceled and roads became impassable. At least seven people have been killed, and thousands remain without electricity. 

In England, the Environment Agency warned that the area was facing the most serious coastal tidal surge in more than 60 years; residents along the Norfolk coast evacuated, and several houses were pushed off cliffs by the storm. 

Waves crash against Portstewart Harbour as gale force winds hit the the north Antrim coast in northern Ireland December 5, 2013. REUTERS/Cathal McNaughton

People walk on the North Sea beach near the town of Norddeich, December 5, 2013. A storm named 'Xaver' brought strong winds and high tides to the northern coasts of Germany on Thursday. REUTERS/Ina Fassbender

Waves lash the ferry pier on the North Sea coast in Dagebuell, Germany, 05 December 2013. Carsten Rehder/dpa/Corbis

An emergency rescue service worker peers through the window of a bungalow as he wades in flood water in a residential street in Rhyl, north Wales December 5, 2013.REUTERS/Phil Noble

A man stands in water washed onto the promenade of the north bay in Scarborough, northern England December 5, 2013. REUTERS/Nigel Roddis

The tide comes over the sea wall in Blackpool, north west England, on December 5, 2013 as high winds hit the north of England and Scotland. PAUL ELLIS/AFP/Getty Images

Houses can be seen through the storm in Langene?, Germany, 05 December 2013. Maja Hitij/dpa/Corbis

Waves hit the coast of Hanstholm, Northern Jutland, on the Danish coast.REUTERS/Henning Bagger/Scanpix