Storm Ciarán whips Western Europe, blowing record winds in France and leaving millions without power
Recording-breaking winds in France and across much of western Europe left at least seven people dead and injured others
PARIS — Recording-breaking winds in France and across much of Western Europe left at least seven people dead and injured others as Storm Ciarán swept through the continent overnight and into Thursday, plunging vast numbers into darkness, devastating homes and causing travel mayhem in several countries.
Winds of more than 190 kph (118 mph) slammed the northern tip of France’s Atlantic coast, uprooting trees and blowing out windows.
A truck driver was killed when his vehicle was hit by a tree in northern France’s inland Aisne region, Transport Minister Clement Beaune said. Meanwhile a 70-year-old man in the port city of Le Havre, Normandy, died in a fall from his balcony. Local media outlet FranceBleu quoted a prosecutor as saying it appeared the victim was closing his shutters amid a gust of wind when he fell at noon Thursday. Another person was badly injured at a university in the northern city of Roubaix, and 15 other people were hurt around western and northern France, authorities announced. Seven of the injured were emergency workers.
Huge waves slammed into French ports and shorelines, as wind flattened street signs and ripped off roofing. Felled trees blocked roads around western France, according to Associated Press reporters and images on French media and social networks.
About 1.2 million French households were left without electricity on Thursday, electrical utility Enedis said in a statement. That includes about half of the homes in Brittany, the Atlantic peninsula hardest hit by Ciarán. Enedis said it would deploy 3,000 workers to restore power when conditions allowed.
The wind reached up to
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