Twenty-six departments are placed on orange alert for violent winds since this Thursday noon by Météo France due to storm Louis: Aisne, Ardennes, Calvados, Eure, Eure-et-Loir, Gers, Haute-Garonne, Hautes-Pyrénées, Manche, Marne, Meuse, Nord, Oise , Orne, Pas-de-Calais, Paris, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Seine-Maritime, Seine-et-Marne, Yvelines, Somme, Essonne, Hauts-de-Seine, Seine -Saint-Denis, Val-de-Marne and Val-d’Oise.
Gusts close to 120 km/h were recorded: 118 km/h in Livry (14), 116 km/h in Octeville (76), 108 km/h in Roissy (95) and Poitiers (86), 102 km/h in Villacoublay (78), 100 km/h in Saint-Hilaire (61) as well as in Pontorson (50).
Furthermore, the department of Two Sevres, where Météo France locally recorded up to 80 mm of rain in 24 hours, and that of the Seine et Marne are placed on orange alert for “floods”. Deux-Sèvres and Vendée, however, are no longer on orange alert for “rain-flooding”.
A man swept into a river with his car
According to France Bleu Poitou, a 52-year-old man died in Saint-Georges-de-Noisné (Deux-Sèvres), swept into a river with his car. He had entered a blocked road and tried to take the bridge which spans the Le Chambon river. But his car was swept away by the current and emergency services were unable to save him.
In Dordogne, A tragedy was narrowly avoided in Buisson-de-Cadouin: a tree fell on the car of a couple in their sixties while they were stationary at a red light. Only the car was hit and the two occupants, unharmed, were freed by a logger who was passing by.
Train traffic disrupted
The weather disrupts rail traffic. The SNCF has suspended the circulation of certain trains, in Hauts-de-France notably. This concerns the TER lines Béthune-Saint Pol sur Ternoise; Arras-Saint Pol sur Ternoise; Beauvais-Abancourt le Tréport; Amiens-Compiègne; Creil-Beauvais and Paris-Laon, indicates the SNCF on its website.
“Disruptions” are also recorded in Brittany on the Quimper-Brest and Saint Brieuc-Lannion lines. The circulation of TER between Rennes and Saint-Malo is “strongly disturbed” since the beginning of the afternoon because “from a tree on the catenary” due to strong gusts of wind, indicated the SNCF on X.
Same in Normandy where winds of nearly 120 km/h were expected on the coast in the afternoon: the SNCF decided to interrupt the circulation of several regional lines between 1 p.m. and the end of the day. The Caen-Cherbourg lines are affected by these traffic suspensions; Caen-Lison-Coutances-Granville; Argentan-Granville; Lisieux-Trouville-Deauville; Caen-Rouen; Rouen-Dieppe; Rouen-Amiens; Le Havre-Rouen; Le Havre-Rolleville and Le Havre-Fécamp, indicates the SNCF on its website.
In the Pays de la Loiretraffic is interrupted on the Angers-Saumur line until 8 p.m. due to lack of power.
90,000 homes without electricity
90,000 homes are without electricity throughout France, Enedis indicates late Thursday afternoon. In Dordogne, 4,500 homes are without electricity, reports France Bleu Périgord. In Yonne, more than 2,600 homes are without electricity, reports France Bleu Auxerre.
Parks and gardens closed in several cities in France
Several cities in France have also decided to close their parks, gardens or cemeteries. The town hall of Paris announced the closure of its green spaces from 11 a.m. The town hall of Poitiers has also decided to close all its parks, gardens and cemeteries, reports France Bleu Poitou. They will reopen normally on Friday, “unless the weather risk changes otherwise”, according to the town hall. HAS Niortwhere the heaviest accumulations of rain were expected, the municipality for its part decided to prohibit access to several sports fields until Monday 26, all those covered in grass.
The city of Nancy closed since 4 p.m. “parks, gardens and cemeteries”. The Gérardmer ski resort, in the Vosges, is also exceptionally closed.
In La Rochelle, the plant garden, the animal garden and the cemeteries are closed to the public from this Thursday midday until Friday morning, indicates France Bleu La Rochelle.