Storm Ciarán keeps much of Western Europe on alert, where its heavy rains and winds have caused five deaths – in France, Spain, Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands. Severe flooding also affects Northern Ireland and the south of the United Kingdom, while Belgium and the Netherlands maintain a national alert. The passage of the storm has generated power outages and chaos in air and rail transportation throughout the area.
At least Five people have died due to the rains and powerful winds, of about 200 km/h, generated by the Ciarán storm as it passed through Europe. A woman died this Thursday, November 2, in Madrid when a tree fell on her and, in France, the driver of a truck also died when a tree fell on her vehicle.
A third death, according to local mediawas recorded in the Belgian city of Ghent, in the northwest of the country, where a person died when a tree fell on him while he was walking through the central Citadel Park.
The precipitation and winds caused by Storm Ciarán this Thursday, November 2, were felt in France, the south of the United Kingdom and central Spain, while in Belgium and the Netherlands the orange alert is maintained in coastal areas due to the impact of one of the most powerful extratropical cyclones of recent decades in the region.
Eurostar, which operates trains between the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Germany and the United Kingdom, said traffic “could be affected” and recommended postponing journeys. Several airports have canceled hundreds of flights, pending the evolution of weather conditions.
Experts from the Spanish Meteorological Agency (Aemet) explained that the power of this storm is due to explosive cyclogenesis, a phenomenon that occurs when a low pressure system intensifies extraordinarily quickly.
France, the most affected by Ciarán
Until this Thursday, November 2, France is the country hardest hit by the stormwhich as it passed through the northwest of the territory caused one death, at least 16 injured, including seven firefighters, and left more than 1,000 displaced from risk areas.
The northwest coast of France was hit by strong gales, with winds of up to 207 km/h at the Pointe de Raz, in the Breton department of Finistère.
Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin confirmed to ‘Franceinfo’ radio that a truck driver had died in the Aisne department, north of Paris, when a tree fell on his truck.
🔴 DIRECT 🗣️ – Le passage de la tempête Ciaran en France a fait un mort et 15 blessés, dont un grièvement ateint recensé à Roubaix selon Gérald Darmanin. pic.twitter.com/jYy7SKoEDB
— franceinfo (@franceinfo) November 2, 2023
There are more than 1.2 million homes without electricity, the majority in the Brittany region, 1,315 evacuated and disruptions in transportation.
Given the forecast of the storm advancing inland, around thirty French departments were placed on “orange alert” due to dangerous weather conditions.
Trucks are prohibited from circulating throughout the Brittany region and five regions in the northwest closed the regional train service (Brittany, Normandy, Hauts-de-France, Centre-Loire Valley and Pays de la Loire).
In some areas of the Atlantic, waves of between 8 and 10 meters are expected and in Paris there is a warning of “violent winds.”
The Government had announced on Wednesday, November 1, that services would be interrupted at several airports and on train lines. As of this Thursday, 10% of the high-speed trains (TGV) remained closed.
United Kingdom: school closures and flights canceled
Large waves driven by Ciarán winds hit the coast in Cornwall, southern England (United Kingdom), where Hundreds of schools remain closed and there are 7,000 homes without electricity due to the rains.
England also suspended rail transport and on the Channel Island of Jersey, several residents were evacuated to hotels overnight Wednesday due to wind damage.
Hundreds more schools remain closed in Southampton, on the Isle of Wight, in East Sussex and Dorset, in southern England.
Alert in Belgium and the Netherlands
In Belgium, where the storm has left at least one dead and one seriously injured, the country was placed on yellow alert due to strong winds, which in that territory have reached 112 kilometers per hour.
The Belgian national company SNCB canceled the circulation of trains to the coast and Brussels airport warned of delays in some connections.
The Government also advised avoiding going to parks, cemeteries, forests or zoos.
Preciselythe death recorded in Belgium took place in a park in the city of Ghentin the northwest of the country.
In the Netherlands, where a dead person was also reported, an orange alert was declared in the province of Zeeland, bordering Belgium, South Holland, North Holland and the Wadden Sea area, to the north.
Due to storm Ciarán, your flight may be canceled or delayed. Are you traveling via Schiphol Airport? Check your current flight information before you depart on our website or contact your airline.https://t.co/eQkzXZKZ2N
— Schiphol (@Schiphol) November 2, 2023
Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport canceled “hundreds of flights” scheduled for today as a result of Ciarán’s arrival.
With information from EFE, AFP and local media
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