Falling trees, a consequence of “strong winds” caused by storm Mathis, caused the death, Friday, March 31, of two men in the Grand-Est. In the middle of the day, a 19-year-old young man was on a rest area near his vehicle when a tree fell on him, explained to Agence France-Presse the firefighters of Senones (Vosges), confirming information from the daily newspaper Vosges Matin. Dispatched to the scene, the latter and the services of SAMU Lorraine tried to resuscitate him, in vain.
In the evening, another young man, in his twenties, was fatally hit by a tree while driving on a road south of Mulhouse (Haut-Rhin), said the central police station of the city, confirming information from the newspaper L’Alsace. His passenger was hospitalized “in serious condition”. During the day, several motorists had reported trunks across the road on this secondary road linking Bruebach to Mulhouse.
Storm Mathis also caused damage in other departments, such as in Indre, where the town hall of Buzançais reported a “tornado”. If the weather phenomenon, “very brief and very impressive” according to a spokesperson for the town hall, only affected a few streets in this town of 4,500 inhabitants, the damage is significant.
The town hall has identified at least 150 homes affected and major damage to the media library. A school was also hit, with no injuries. The firefighters intervened fifty-five times in the town for falling trees, chimneys and torn roofs.
Train traffic disrupted in Hauts-de-France
In Vienne, another tornado caused damage without causing injuries in the village of Saint-Jean-de-Sauves, according to the prefecture. A few houses lost their roofs, a nursing home and a school courtyard were also affected.
In Hauts-de-France, storm Mathis disrupted train traffic between Lille and Douai (North), as well as on several routes departing from and arriving at Valenciennes, due to catenary problems caused by falls. of trees. In Pas-de-Calais, gusts of wind of up to 130 km / h were noted on Friday in Radinghem.
At midnight Friday evening, Météo-France still classified 23 departments in yellow vigilance for “violent winds”, 61 departments for “thunderstorms” and 6 departments for “rain-flood”.
“From Haute-Normandie to Lorraine and up to Hauts-de-France, the wind died down overnight. (…) The west to northwest wind is sensitive from the tip of Brittany to the Aquitaine coast around 60 to 70 km / h peaks, “says the forecaster in his bulletin.
Five departments of the Alps massif are also classified as “avalanches” yellow vigilance, while the coastline of the departments of Gironde, Landes and Pyrénées-Atlantiques is classified as “waves-submersion”.
