Storm Ciaran ravages France: trucker dead, 15 injured, crisis team activated
Storm Ciaran has hit France. The storm and ensuing hurricane-like winds have led to the death of a truck driver and injured 15 others. A crisis team has been established to handle the severe weather conditions.
12:51 PM EDT, November 2, 2023
According to Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin, a truck driver was killed near Resson-le-Long after being crushed by a tree.
In total, 15 people were injured during the storm, which included seven firefighters. Several people on the Roubaix campus sustained serious injuries due to a fallen tree.
Darmanin highlighted that firefighters conducted 3500 interventions given the extensive damage caused by the storm. In response, over a thousand police officers and gendarmes were deployed.
"Assistance is still being provided to vulnerable, isolated individuals," the minister declared. Additionally, he stated that 30 helicopters are actively participating in the ongoing relief efforts.
Record-breaking wind gusts
Data from the Meteo-France service indicates that a wind gust recorded atop the Eiffel Tower on Thursday morning reached a speed of 86 mph. In many regions across the country, the fastest wind gusts ever measured were observed, exceeding 124 mph.
Hurricane-like winds in Brittany and the Ile-de-France region have caused serious disruption to transportation.
The TER train service is entirely suspended in Brittany, Normandy, Hauts-de-France, and the Loire region. This disruption has affected the operation of high-speed TGV and Ouigo trains in Western France, including those heading to Paris.
Three departments – Finistere, Manche, and Cotes-d’Armor - have been put on a red alert due to violent winds. An elevated risk warning has also been issued for thirty other departments.
Since Thursday morning, no flights have landed at Beauvais Airport in Oise, the Paris base of budget airline Ryanair. All morning flights scheduled at the airport were either redirected or cancelled.
Over 980,000 households are currently without power.
Mini-tornadoes and giant waves unleashed
Residents of the Gironde department had to wrestle with a mini-tornado that stormed through the town of Vendays at night. This inflicted considerable damage - a minimum of 24 houses being impacted.
In the country's north, such as at Belle-Ile-en-Mer, the waves are so high they scarcely miss the cliffs, even reaching heights of up to 65 feet.
City authorities affected by the storm's hurricane-like winds have closed forests and parks to the public. Vehicle movement was limited in the Finistere department in north-western France.
