Two die as storm Amy hits north of France
Violent winds also cause widespread travel disruption and power cuts
A 48-year-old man drowned in Seine-Maritime after going swimming early in the morning
leolintang/Shutterstock
Two people have died in northern France after storm Amy brought violent winds and heavy seas to the region on Saturday, October 4. The storm, which crossed the Channel from the British Isles, also caused widespread travel disruption and power cuts.
In Seine-Maritime (Normandy), a 48-year-old man drowned at Etretat after going swimming early in the morning, shortly before the department was placed on orange alert for high winds.
Firefighters said they were unable to attempt a rescue because of dangerous conditions at sea. His body was recovered at low tide at 16:00.
In Aisne (Hauts-de-France), a 25-year-old man was killed when a large tree branch fell onto his vehicle while he was driving on a departmental road near Gouy.
His 22-year-old passenger was seriously injured and taken to hospital in Amiens, according to the prefecture.
Saturday alerts in north
On Saturday, state forecaster Météo-France placed six departments in the north on high (orange) alert between midday and 19:00: Seine-Maritime, Nord, Pas-de-Calais, Somme, Aisne and Oise.
The strongest gales were recorded at Cap de la Hève, near Le Havre, at 131km/h, and at Dieppe, where they reached 122km/h.
On the northern coast, gales of 112km/h were measured at Cap Gris-Nez (Pas-de-Calais) and 102km/h at Boulogne-sur-Mer.
The storm left up to 5,000 households in Normandy without electricity during the morning. Enedis later reported that outages in the wider region peaked at 13,000 customers by 18:00.
Around 4,100 homes in Yonne (Bourgogne-Franche-Comté) were also affected. Power was restored to most properties overnight.
Rail services were interrupted across Hauts-de-France, with six TER lines suspended for the day.
Road traffic was also disrupted. Near Dieppe (Seine-Maritime) a car was crushed by three falling trees at Saint-Germain-d’Étables. The driver escaped without injury.
Storm Amy had already caused one death in Ireland on Friday, as well as widespread flooding and power outages.
Météo-France described the weather system as the first major autumn storm of the year.
Winds eased during Saturday evening as the orange alert was lifted, though a yellow warning remained in place overnight across much of northern France.
By Sunday morning, October 5, all weather alerts in the north of France had been lifted.
