The Patricia depression hitting the country on Wednesday claimed its first victim. A bather died in Ouessant (Finistère), according to Le Télégramme. Rescuers were unable to save the 55-year-old woman, who drowned. Her two sons are safe, but very shocked.
Near Saintes, Charente-Maritime, a 10-year-old child is between life and death after being crushed by a tree, according to France Bleu. This Wednesday morning, a woman and her child fell into the water during a paddle outing, off Plouha in the Côtes-d’Armor. They were rescued.
Manche, Ille-et-Vilaine, Côtes-d’Armor and Finistère are placed on orange vigilance “waves-submersion” by Météo-France until midnight. In connection with the storm, a very unusual gale for the season, associated with strong waves in a context of high tides, affected Brittany and the Channel coasts, indicates the meteorological service and relayed by Ouest-France.
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In Paimpol, in the Côtes-d’Armor, traffic is prohibited on part of the port. While the city is soon to host a music festival, the decree has been issued to allow the organizers to place trucks on the quays in order to break the wind and limit the risks on the installations.
Faced with the danger, the municipalities call for caution and strongly recommend not to go to sea. The storm also caused many trees to fall. Between Rennes and Redon, a tree fell on an electrical installation stopped train traffic. Twenty trees fell in the Orne, blocking road traffic in several places. In Brest, a branch pierced the windshield of a vehicle. The driver was not injured.
The West was not the only part of France affected by the storm. The disturbance extended to the northern side of the country, causing flooding on the Wimereux dike in Pas-de-Calais.
?? The Patricia low generates a strong swell and flooding in Wimereux in Pas-de-Calais. A rare scene in the middle of summer. (© David Julie Caquet) pic.twitter.com/JuDR4na7if
In the east of the country, in Lorraine, a fallen tree on the A33, near Nancy, cut off traffic for an hour, reports L’Est Républicain, while near Toul, a driver was trapped by the sudden rise in water, and forced to take refuge on the roof of his car. Spikes of up to 101 km/h were recorded by the Nancy-Ochey station.
