One depression chases another. Two days after Ciaran, storm Domingos burst into France on Saturday, already affected by bad weather, leading to power cuts and the maintenance of 12 departments on orange alert across the country.
This Sunday morning, in its 6 a.m. bulletin, Météo-France however put an end to the last orange alerts for “wind” and “rain-flood”. “The weather remains choppy with frequent showers” in the country and “the gusts that accompany them are less strong”, described the meteorologists.
Domingos “less severe” than Ciaran
Sunday, shortly after midnight, 22,800 homes no longer had access to electricity according to a publication on X from the prefect of New Aquitaine and Gironde. Across Vienna, this number stood at 3,000 early this Sunday.
Domingos, a priori “less severe” than its predecessor according to Météo-France, could however cause new damage in areas already affected by Ciaran, which left at least two dead and 47 injured in France. And this new depression should complicate repairs to the electricity network, which are still underway.
Météo-France thus recorded winds on Saturday evening at 152 km/h in Lège-Cap-Ferret (Gironde), 144 km/h in Cognac (Charente), 138 km/h in Rochefort (Charente-Maritime) or even 136 km/h in Niort. In La Rochelle, a person was slightly injured by a falling tree, according to Mayor Jean-François Fountaine. In the port, the gusts threw rain and sea waves towards the coast. Several trees were lying on the ground, strewn with broken branches and overturned street furniture.
Tree falls in Charente-Maritime and Vendée
Due to “strong waves”, the orange vigilance for waves-submersion is still in force on Sunday morning in Bouches-du-Rhône, Var, Alpes-Maritimes and Corse-du-Sud. An orange flood alert also includes Corrèze, Dordogne, Charente, Charente-Maritime, Deux-Sèvres, Vienne, Pas-de-Calais and Corsica.
In Charente-Maritime and Vendée, the authorities reported trees falling on the roads on Saturday evening. Vendée firefighters carried out 54 interventions in connection with the storm between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. The prefect of New Aquitaine and Gironde reported 360 interventions early this Sunday.
Transport very disrupted
And these weather conditions are slowing down repairs to the electricity network, according to Enedis, which reported on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. 176,000 customers still without electricity since Thursday, particularly in Brittany and Normandy, compared to 260,000 at 8 a.m.
Transport was also very disrupted during this last weekend of the All Saints’ Day holidays. “For safety”, the circulation of regional trains has been suspended around La Rochelle and northwest of Bordeaux, according to SNCF. Tram and bus traffic was also stopped in Bordeaux until 8 a.m. this Sunday.