PARIS: Around 450,000 households in southern France were without power on Friday, operator Enedis reported, a day after a violent storm tore through the region, uprooting trees and flooding roads.
High winds and heavy rain caused chaos across southern France, northern Spain, and parts of Portugal on Thursday, leading to flight, train, and ferry cancellations, as well as widespread road disruptions.
French authorities confirmed that a truck driver died when a tree smashed through his windscreen, according to AFP.
Dozens were injured in weather-related incidents in Spain, and a viaduct in Portugal partially collapsed due to flooding. French forecasters described the storm, named Nils, as “unusually strong.”
Enedis mobilised around 3,000 staff to restore power and reported that by 6:00 am (0500 GMT), 50 percent of the 900,000 customers affected had electricity restored.
“Flooding complicates repairs because the fields are waterlogged and some roads are blocked,” Enedis crisis director Herve Champenois said during a press briefing on Thursday.
Residents across southern France expressed shock at the storm’s intensity. “I’ve never seen anything like it,” said Ingrid, a florist in Perpignan. “A tree almost fell on my car — two seconds more and it would have.”
Eugenie Ferrier, 32, from the village of Roaillan near Bordeaux, added, “During the night, you could hear tiles lifting, rubbish bins rolling down the street — it was crazy.”
Forecasters confirmed that the storm moved eastwards away from French territory on Thursday, although some areas remained on alert for flooding.
