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Storm Ciaran has hit France, Belgium, the Channel Islands and Southern England this week, with hurricane-strength winds leaving over a million people without access to electricity and killing four in France and Belgium.
According to the country's meteorological agency Meteo-France, wind speeds broke several local records; gusts of more than 200 kph (124 mph) hit the department of Finistere in the northwest region of France, CNN reports. "The very violent winds and gusts which followed one another throughout the night had the effect of causing many trees, branches and electrical and telephone lines across the entire road network to fall to the ground," a statement from the Finistere authority said. CNN has reported at least four deaths during the Storm, two coming from France and a further two in Belgium. In Belgium, a 65-year-old woman and a 5-year-old child were killed in Ghent, in two separate incidents after being hit by branches. Meanwhile, in France A falling branch hit a truck driver, fatally wounding him, according to the French Transport Minister Clement Beaune, whilst a 70-year-old man died in Le Havre (Normandy) after falling while attempting to close his balcony shutters. Also, in France, 1.2 million people were left without power, around 780,000 of those without power are in the north western region of Brittany. French energy supplier Enedis said fallen trees and electricity pylons were to blame for the cuts, the energy supplier has mobilized around 3,000 workers and 30 helicopters to re-establish power. The storm has also had significant consequences on the British Isles and the Channel Islands, with red alert warnings being enacted. On the island of Jersey, all schools along with the airport were closed, according to the government's website. In the English South-western County of Cornwall, 8,500 people were without power, the local county council said on X (formerly Twitter), trees were blocking dozens of roads, and more than 100 schools were closed. The UK's Met Office warned that flying debris posed a "danger to life", as trees, coastal roads and homes also suffer damage due to strong winds and large waves. Storm Ciaran follows less than two weeks after Storm Babet, which saw several deaths after heavy rainfall and flash flooding in parts of Scotland and northern and central England CNN reports that the climate crisis is making some storms more frequent and intense due to the warming of the earth's atmosphere, enabling it to hold more water vapour -- so when it rains, it rains much more intensely. (ANI)
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