2023-11-02 22:00:40
Storm Ciaran which hit western Europe on Thursday left at least seven dead, including a five-year-old child in Belgium, and caused significant disruption, with ports closed and flights canceled.
Falling trees caused by violent gusts of wind are the cause of six of these fatal accidents: two victims in Belgium, a second in the center of Madrid, a truck driver in France, a forty-year-old in Germany and a fifth died in the Netherlands.
Transportation disrupted
In the Flemish city of Ghent, a 5-year-old Ukrainian child who was playing outside was injured by falling branches and died in hospital a few hours later, according to the local prosecutor’s office. In a separate incident, a 64-year-old woman, visiting from Germany, was also killed in a city park. His 31-year-old daughter was seriously injured.
Storm Ciaran led to the interruption of part of rail traffic in Flanders and trains were running at reduced speed in the rest of Belgium on Thursday.
Maritime traffic was also interrupted for the day in the Antwerp port area.
And Brussels airport was also experiencing disruptions, but flights continued to operate there despite numerous delays.
>> Update on Raphael Grand’s situation in the 12:45 from Brittany
Raphaël Grand, RTS correspondent, reports the extent of storm Ciaran from Brittany, in the northwest of France / 12:45 p.m. / 1 min. / yesterday at 12:45
In the south of England, strong winds and heavy rain caused significant disruption with the suspension of all maritime connections from the port of Dover. On the Channel Island of Jersey, winds reached up to 160 km/h.
In the Netherlands, the alert level was raised to orange, with winds up to 110 km/h. At Schiphol-Amsterdam Airport, around 200 flights were canceled. Rail and ferry traffic was also disrupted. Faced with traffic jams, motorists were asked to favor working from home.
In Spain, many regions are subject to weather alerts due to winds that can exceed 150 km/hour. The part most affected by the storm is the northwest, where some areas of Galicia are on red alert, due to extremely violent winds on the coast. The waves reached eight or nine meters.
Wave-submersion alert
In addition to the winds, Météo-France is concerned regarding a “rainy episode giving significant amounts of precipitation in a short time on already saturated soils”, including possible falls of still very leafy trees.
Orange “waves-submersions” vigilance has been activated for the coastlines of Finistère, Morbihan, Loire-Atlantique and Vendée, specifies Météo-France. Waves of more than ten meters hit part of the Atlantic coast.
Almost everywhere on the coast, calls for caution, particularly for walkers and boaters, have increased. These submersion waves are particularly devastating on the coast where careless walkers are regularly swept away.
>> Details from 12:30 p.m.:
State of affairs in France following the passage of storm Ciaran / 12:30 p.m. / 2 min. / yesterday at 12:35
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furr/juma/hkr with agencies
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