OAN’s Abril Elfi
5:36 PM – Thursday, November 2, 2023
Winds of at least 108 mph have hit France’s Atlantic coast leaving seven dead, dozens injured and millions without electricity.
Advertisement
On Thursday, Storm Ciarán blasted sections of France, England, and Spain, with hurricane-force winds causing at least seven deaths, more than a dozen injuries, and over a million power disruptions across Europe.
According to Gerald Darmanin, France’s Minister of the Interior, a truck driver died just outside of Paris when a tree fell into his vehicle.
He also reported that several homes had to be evacuated after a crane fell and that Ciarán has left a trail of closed roads and uprooted trees over Finisterre, Cotes d’Armor, and Manache, which took the brunt of the triple-digit wind gusts, according to him.
Ciarán grew rapidly throughout the day Wednesday, taking advantage of a strong jet stream that spanned from New England to the North Atlantic Ocean.
The storm’s core pressure dropped from 989 millibars Tuesday night to 953 millibars by Wednesday night, easily meeting the requirements for a bomb cyclone when the storm’s center passed into the English Channel Thursday.
The 953.3 millibar reading in Plymouth on Thursday set a national record for the lowest November air pressure ever in England.
Clement Beaune, France’s Transport Minister, said on X, the social media formerly known as Twitter, that airports in Brest and Quimper were still closed Thursday morning and asked people to keep off the roads and work from home if possible.
According to France’s energy minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher, about 1.2 million people had lost power so far in France alone due to the storm and tens of thousands were without cellphone service.
Darmanin reported firefighters across northern France have responded to nearly 3,500 calls for storm assistance so far.
Stay informed! Receive breaking news blasts directly to your inbox for free. Subscribe here. https://www.oann.com/alerts
By: OAN
