Woman drowns and falling tree hits boy, 10, as record winds hit France

A woman has drowned and a boy is fighting for his life in hospital after record-breaking winds lashed France.

The separate incidents happened on Wednesday (August 2) with coastal areas on high alert over the bad weather.

The woman, 57, drowned after swimming off the coast of Île d'Ouessant, an island to the west of mainland Brittany.

A passer-by saw three swimmers in difficulty - the woman and her two sons - and alerted the emergency services.

The two sons were rescued, according to Huffington Post, but the woman “went into cardiorespiratory arrest and could not be resuscitated”.

The island’s mayor told French television channel BFMTV that it was a “tragedy” for the family, who had a second house on Ouessant and were used to the island.

The department’s prefecture said at the time the emergency services were alerted a tier-three orange warning - the second highest level - for strong waves and high tides, was in place. At Ouessant there were gale force 7 winds (between 50 to 60 km/h) and the waves were between 6 to 9 metres high.

Read more: Coastal areas on high alert as winds and storms lash northern France

Meanwhile, a 10-year-old boy was airlifted to hospital after being hit by a falling tree in Montpellier-de-Médillan, situated in the Charente-Maritime department, halfway between La Rochelle and Bordeaux.

A firefighter told French news agency AFP that it is unclear whether the tree fell because of the wind or because of its weakness.

Records broken

Wednesday’s winds broke several monthly records for August.

According to BFMTV, they were at:

• Lanvéoc and Saint Ségal in Brittany, with winds of 94 km/h and 97 km/h, breaking the 90 km/h record set in August 2004
• Ploumanac’h, also in Brittany, with winds of 103 km/h compared to the previous record of 101 km/h
• Gouville-sur-Mer, in Normandy, with winds of 107 km/h compared to 104 km/h.

It reported records for August were also broken inland at:

• Marcé, in the Pays de la Loire, where winds of 82 km/h broke the 2015 record of 76 km/h
• Rennes, in Brittany, saw winds of 89 km/h, beating the 2019 record of 85 km/h
• Ploërmel, also in Brittany, where winds of 84 km/h just beat the 2004 record of 83 km/h
• The Paris Longchamp weather station, west of the capital, registered 71 km/h winds, breaking the monthly record.

Weather warning in place for Thursday

For Thursday (August 3) afternoon and evening, Météo France says 66 departments - mostly in northern and western France - are on a tier-two yellow warning for storms.

France’s Atlantic coastline is on the same alert for high waves, while heavy rain and flooding are expected in several northern departments.

Yellow warnings mean residents should be cautious when going outside and keep up-to-date with local weather reports.

The weather is expected to be calmer on Friday, except for small areas of southern France, which are on a tier-two warning for storms.

The departments affected are:

• Landes
• Pyrénées-Atlantiques
• Alpes-Maritimes

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