On the night of Wednesday, June 25 to Thursday, June 26, violent thunderstorms crossed a large part of French territory, placing more than forty departments in orange alert.
Wind gusts up to 140 km/h were recorded in the Oise, and the Eiffel Tower has suffered winds from more than 110 km/h. These extreme conditions were accompanied by intense rains, continuous lightning and sometimes even hail, causing meteorological chaos in several regions, notably in Île-de-France.
The human record is tragic: two people have lost their lives. In Mayenne, a 59 -year -old man was killed as he was traveling in quad, struck by a uprooted tree. In Tarn-et-Garonne, a 12-year-old teenager died after being touched by a tree fell into a campsite. In addition to these dramas, the material damage is considerable. About 110,000 households were deprived of electricity, mainly in Île-de-France, in the center and in the west of the country.
Thunderstorms have also strongly disrupted transport networks. Metro, RER and regional trains were suspended or delayed due to trees fallen on the tracks and the flood of certain tunnels. The firefighters intervened more than 2,500 times during the night, for floods, falling of trees, uprooted roofs or damaged vehicles. The mobilization was immediate and massive in the affected areas.
This Thursday morning, orange vigilance was lifted in the majority of departments. The Enedis teams are busy restoring electricity in the still private households, while road services release the roads and secure the disaster areas. If calm seems to come back, the authorities call for caution in the coming hours, certain regions remaining weakened. An investigation is underway to precisely assess the extent of the damage and learn from this extreme meteorological episode.
