LONDON/PARIS:
Storm Ciaran lashed northwestern Europe on Thursday with strong winds and rain, killing one person in France and forcing the closure of schools, airports and rail and ferry services.
A truck driver was killed by a falling tree northeast of Paris and 1.2 million French households were left without power. Authorities in Finistère, Brittany urged people to stay indoors and avoid winds that hit 207km/h, leading to reports of 20m waves off the coast.
Storm Ciaran, which follows on from Storm Babet two weeks ago, was driven by a strong jet stream that swept in from the Atlantic, unleashing heavy rain and fierce winds that have already caused severe flooding in Northern Ireland and parts of Britain.
French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said on social networking site X that 1,315 people had to be moved to camps or shelters and several houses were evacuated in the Finistere city of Brest after a crane collapsed.
“I repeat: stay at home,” local prefect Alain Espinasse told RTL radio.
However, the storm in France showed some signs of abating with the Meteo France weather service downgrading the alert for strong winds in Mache, Finistere and Cotes d’Armor from red to orange.
In Britain, the Channel Islands were among the worst-hit areas, with the BBC reporting that windows were blown out and a roof ripped off a house in Jersey, forcing families to move to nearby hotels.
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Southern England was also badly hit, with many schools closed and the sea lifesaving charity urging people to avoid the coast.
Pretty normal
Britain’s Met Office has issued a yellow warning for London and south-east England.
“This bad weather could make visiting our coasts around southern England and Wales treacherous and bring very dangerous sea conditions,” said Ross Macleod of the RNLI.
Britain’s Met Office said Storm Ciaran was a “fairly normal” autumn storm, but said that under some climate forecasts the frequency and intensity of such storms in the British winter could increase slightly.
Dutch Airline KLM canceled hundreds of flights to and from Amsterdam, while international trains from the Dutch capital to Paris were also canceled and shipping lanes in the southwest of the country were closed.
Spain’s state meteorological agency AEMET also issued red warnings on Thursday for the northern regions of Galicia and Cantabria, where waves of up to nine meters were expected.
La Pinilla, a ski resort north of Madrid, and Estaca de Bares in Galicia recorded wind speeds of more than 150 kilometers per hour, AEMET said.
Airports company AENA said 18 flights to Madrid, Bilbao, Asturias, Vigo, La Coruña and Santander were canceled after 21 were canceled on Wednesday.
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