Storm Ciaran lashes northern Europe with strong winds and rain, two killed in Belgium
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Storm Ciaran was driven by a powerful jet stream that swept in from the Atlantic, unleashing heavy rain and furious winds.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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LONDON/PARIS - Storm Ciaran smashed into northern Europe with strong winds and driving rain on Thursday, killing one person in France, two in Belgium, and forcing the closure of airports, rail and ferry services, and schools.
A truck driver was killed by a falling tree northeast of Paris and 1.2 million households in France were left without electricity.
Authorities in Finistere, Brittany, urged people to stay at home and avoid winds which were hitting 207kmh, leading to reports of 20m waves off the coast.
“I repeat: stay at home,” local prefect Alain Espinasse told RTL radio.
Storm Ciaran, which follows on the heels of Storm Babet two weeks ago
In Britain, the Channel Islands were among the worst hit areas, with the BBC reporting that windows had been blown in and one roof ripped off a house on Jersey, forcing families to move into nearby hotels.
Southern England was also badly affected, with many schools closed and the rescue charity that saves lives at sea urging people to avoid the coast.
Storm Ciaran smashed into northern Europe with strong winds and driving rain on Nov 2.
PHOTO: REUTERS
“This rough weather could make visiting our coasts around southern England and Wales treacherous and bring very dangerous sea conditions,” Mr Ross Macleod of the RNLI said.
Britain’s Met Office said Storm Ciaran was a “fairly normal” Autumn storm but said that under certain climate projections the frequency and intensity of such storms in the British winter could slightly increase.
In Belgium, the storm caused two deaths in Ghent in Belgium, the local prosecutor’s office said on Thursday.
One of the victims was five years old, while the other one was a 64-year-old German woman visiting Belgium.
Both deaths were caused by falling branches from trees.
The woman’s 31-year-old daughter was also hit by a branch and needed an operation.
Dutch airline KLM said it had also scrapped dozens of flights to and from Amsterdam Schiphol airport on Thursday. REUTERS
