Article author:
Reuters
Marc Angrand and Benoit Van Overstraeten
PARIS — A violent and unexpected storm hit the French Mediterranean island of Corsica on Thursday, killing at least two people, including a teenage girl. Six people were killed and meteorologists predicted more severe weather to follow.
Hail, heavy rain and 224 km/h (140 mph) winds hit the island. Two of his victims died when trees fell at his campsite.
"A storm formed over the sea will affect much of the coast of West Corsica during the night from Thursday to Friday," Meteor France forecasters said.
French President Emmanuel Macron said he had convened an emergency government meeting by videoconference on Thursday night to address the crisis.
Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin, who visited Corsica, said about 350 people were reported missing at one point, with tour boats capsizing or being adrift. He added that all were found alive and well.
Witnesses who witnessed a morning storm destroying campsites, delaying trains and uprooting trees said they had never seen anything like it on the island. 32}
"I've never seen a storm this big. You would think it was a tropical storm," said Cedric Boel, manager of Le Gones Corses restaurant in northern Corsica. rocks nearby.
Wildlife photographer Jorhan Nibault, 24, who is staying at a campsite near San Nicolao in the northeastern part of the island, said a storm had torn the site apart, causing trees to fall. uprooted the trailer and damaged his house.
"There were no warnings. … I'm not scared. No one expected this," Nibault said.
In central Italy, he killed two people when a tree fell. This was due to strong storms hitting some areas.
"Tornado-like gusts"
Heat waves and severe drought hit many parts of France with several hours of more rain than in recent months combined. A storm raged as it was seen in
In southern Corsica, officials said a 13-year-old girl died after a tree fell on her campsite and a 72-year-old woman died after her car hit the roof of her beach house.
A 46-year-old French man died after a tree fell in his bungalow at a northern campground, according to authorities. A 23-year-old Italian woman was injured at the same location and was taken to hospital in critical condition.
A fisherman and a canoeist were also killed, officials said. Interior Minister Darmanin did not provide details about the sixth death.
Meteor France did not give advance warning, saying the exact location of the storm was difficult to predict. He raises the alarm with "immediate effect" as high winds begin to hit the island.
In mainland France, homes were hit with power outages after storms hit the southern Loire and Ain departments, but on Wednesday night in Marseille, streets were flooded and water streams flooded the steps of the port city. said on social media where the video was shared.
Further north, drought leaves the Loire and is famous for its riverside chateaux, so shallow that even flat-bottomed tourist barges can barely navigate.
(Reporting by Tassilo Hummel, Myriam Rivet, Matthieu Prottard, Layli Foroudi, Marc Angrand, Geert De Clercq; Writing by Ingrid Melander; Editing by John Stonestreet, Nick Macfie, Jonathan Oatis)
