Jacques Frost

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Denuded Hill. As a thaw began in some places at week's end, Europe was still reckoning the damage caused by the angry elements. In the southern French city of Montelimar, the roof of a temporary refuge collapsed under the weight of the snow, killing two persons and injuring 15 others. On the slopes of Monte Pendolo, 20 miles south of Naples, a hillside denuded of trees by speculative builders crashed into a hotel during a 36-hour rainfall and killed six people. A small Dutch tanker sank in the mouth of the Humber River on Britain's east coast and a small Greek freighter capsized in Naples' harbor. Then there was the mishap that struck Chambourcy, France's second biggest yogurt maker. Eight Chambourcy trucks were stranded for several days on A7, one of France's main north-south auto routes. Now the company is suing highway authorities over the loss of no fewer than 1,000,000 pots of yogurt that were spoiled by the delay.