UNDATED. Dec 31: Arctic weather kept Europe , in deep freeze today as Ice. snow arid the lowest temperatures in decades raised the death toll to over 80 and caused chaos to road, train and air traffic across the continent. reports AFP.

Deaths due to the freak cold snap have been reported in virtually every country in Europe, from Russia in the east to Spain in the West, with the homeless and elderly inevitably the hardest hit.

While many people took advantage of the conditions to Indulge in a spot of post-Chr-istmas exercise on skates or skis, others, battle the sub-zero weather simply to stay alive.

In France, three more people r-'iind dead over the weekend. bringing the overall toll to 10 in a week as temperatures slumped to their lowest for 34 vears. while in Germany two men aged 59 and 53 died of cold in the eastern Bradenburg state, where heavy snowfalls also caused chaos on the roads.

The German national car-

Her Lufthansa cancelled about 40 domestic flights Monday morning as the majority of the country's airports were under snow and ice. Worst hit was Frankfurt, and a number of international flights to destinations in Eastern and Central Europe had to be annulled.

A woman of 51 died while out for a walk from her home in Vienna, bringing the death toll in Austria to four since Wednesday. Temperatures have dropped to as low as minus 25 Celsius (minus 13 fahrenheit).

The bodies of two homeless were discovered in the streets of Madrid on Monday, taking the number of dead from appalling weather in Spain to five. A man, aged 50. was found in the north of the capital, while another whose age was not known was found on a mattress in the city centre.

Earlier AP says from Seattle, rain and rising temperatures began washing away tour days of snow and ice across the Northwest, only to cause flooding and mudslides.