Storm Kirk: 48,000 customers without electricity at 12 p.m., Seine-et-Marne on red flood alert… Update on the situation at midday

Storm Kirk continues to disrupt the lives of many French people this Thursday noon. Even if the heavy rains and violent winds have moved away from Luxembourg and Germany, the consequences of the passage of the storm remain significant.

The human toll from the storm was one dead in Sète (Hérault). A boater fell into the water Wednesday evening and died. A second boater is in absolute emergency. Their boats capsized near the port. In Pornic (Loire-Atlantique), a 70-year-old man walked onto a flooded road. His cart was swept away by the water. He was rescued by a professional firefighter who witnessed the scene. The septuagenarian was hospitalized in a state of hypothermia.

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DIRECT. Storm Kirk: 3,700 interventions have been carried out since Wednesday, Seine-et-Marne remains on red flood alert

Seine-et-Marne on red flood alert

It is in Seine-et-Marne, in the Paris region, that the situation is most worrying. The department remains on red flood alert due to the very high level of the Grand Morin river, a tributary of the Marne. The river burst its banks, flooding the streets and fields of several towns, particularly between Coulommiers and Pommeuse. Businesses are flooded. Only one family had to be relocated. The town’s school was closed as a precaution. The flood peak was expected at midday.

Six departments are still on orange flood alert: Deux-Sèvres, Eure-et-Loir, Orne, Sarthe, Meurthe-et-Moselle, Vendée. Several rivers are under orange or red flood alert, particularly in the departments of Eure-et-Loir and Deux-Sèvres or in Ile-de-France.

More than 100 mm of precipitation fell at the height of the showers on already saturated soils. That’s the equivalent of a month’s worth of rain in 24 hours. In Paris, 65 mm of precipitation fell, which is a record since 1920.

48,000 homes without electricity

Enedis announces that 48,000 customers remain without electricity at 12 p.m. in France. The most affected department is the Pyrénées-Atlantiques with 12,000 homes without power, there are 7,700 in Doubs or 5,000 in Jura. At 8 a.m. this morning, there were 65,000 homes without electricity. More than 1,000 agents from Enedis and its partner companies are mobilized to restore power as quickly as possible.

SNCF sections impassable

No train will run until tomorrow between Bayonne and Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port in the Basque Country. Many trees fell on the tracks on Wednesday. Between Pau and Lourdes, no trains were running this Thursday morning due to a tree obstructing the tracks. It was cleared late in the morning. SNCF traffic was able to resume. At the start of the morning, disturbances were reported in Limousin, Pays de la Loire and Rhône-Alpes. More than 500 SNCF Réseau agents have intervened since Wednesday. No TGV lines were affected by the storm.