Power cuts, fallen trees, one dead: Storm Darragh leaves trail of damage across France
Plane diverts to Spain after shaky landing attempt at Toulouse. Many areas remain on alert
While it did not provoke the same level of havoc as in the UK, where the authorities raised the alert level to maximum in some areas, Storm Darragh nonetheless left its mark in France
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Many departments remain on alert after violent winds linked to Storm Darragh buffeted much of the country over the weekend disrupting transport and causing power cuts. They are also thought to have caused one death.
The passage of Storm Darragh over the British isles and Belgium led to strong winds nationally and particularly along the Channel coast on Saturday (December 7) causing French state forecaster Météo France to issue high (orange) weather alerts in seven departments.
The storm did not hit France with the same violence as in the UK, where the authorities raised the alert level to maximum in some areas, but it nonetheless left its mark in France.
On Sunday, a 66-year-old man was found dead in a water course in the commune of Mézidon-Vallée-d’Auge, Seine-Maritime.
The man, who has not been publicly named, had been declared missing by his family earlier that day after going out on his bike.
Police are treating the death as an accidental drowning and related to the extreme weather.
Extreme winds
The wind was strongest in Manche, at 159km/h. However it was felt in all departments along the Channel coast as gales toppled trees and power lines, causing widespread power cuts.
Rail services were cancelled and delayed all along the Channel coast, only resuming normal operations on Sunday afternoon.
Up to 30,000 homes in Normandy and Brittany were without power at one point on Sunday, said energy supplier Enedis,.
A tree fell on a car at 15:30, trapping the driver inside. Ten firefighters were called to free the injured 62-year-old from his vehicle.
In Seine-Maritime, a British registered barge ran aground at Sotteville-sur-Mer. The empty craft was apparently adrift at sea having detached from the Maltese-flagged tug Boka Glacier, according to the departmental prefecture.
In the village of Coquelles (Pas-de-Calais), the violent wind tore the 150m2 roof off a care home at around 13:00 on Saturday.
Firefighters were dispatched to prevent the roof from causing additional damage. None of the Terrasses de la Mer home’s residents were injured.
Planes struggle to land
The strong winds also gave a fright to the passengers on board several planes.
One Ryanair flight inbound to Toulouse from the Canary Islands on Saturday was so shaken by the fierce gusts of wind that traffic controllers decided the landing was too risky, and redirected the aircraft to Spain.
Similarly on Sunday, flight AF 1674 from Lyon to Caen "almost scraped its wing on the runway" on its first landing attempt, according to reports to France Bleu.
Controllers redirected the flight to Paris for a safer landing.
Weather alerts continue
The violent winds started to lose their intensity as Storm Darragh dissipated on Sunday, however, many departments remain on alert around France on December 9 due variously to the risk of flooding, ice or heavy snow.
The alerts are set to remain in place at least until Tuesday, December 10.
