The wind blew strong in the South-West and the Pyrenees this Wednesday, October 9, brought by the storm “Kirk”, in particular in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques and the Hautes-Pyrénées, on orange alert for violent winds. Weather stations recorded gusts exceeding 150 km/h in certain valleys, and approaching 100 km/h in places on the plains. These gusts of wind caused damage: trees fell on the tracks, and sometimes damaged high-voltage lines, causing power outages.
Gusts of up to 211 km/h recorded
One of the strongest gusts recorded in Iraty, in Soule, with 211 km/h recorded by Météo France. In Béarn, the wind blew up to 152 km/h in the Aspe Valley, beyond 140 km/h in the Ossau valley, and up to 120 km/h in Cauterets, with very strong winds. also at altitude. In Oloron-Sainte-Marie, gusts approached 100 km/h, causing several trees to fall on the tracks.
Thousands of homes without electricity
Many homes and stores found themselves without power. This Thursday morning at 6 a.m., Enedis announced another 22,000 homes without electricity in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques, and 13,000 customers affected in Béarn. The day before, at 8 p.m. this Wednesday, some homes were able to be reconnected to the network, but 25,000 homes (compared to 32,000 at 5 p.m.) were still without electricity in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques, including 14,000 (compared to 18,000 at 5 p.m.) in Béarn. With sectors particularly affected: Oloron-Ogeu, Nord-Laruns and, to a lesser extent, Sud-Orthez. At 6 p.m., Enedis spoke of around 1,000 households affected in Bigorre, in the mountains. Enedis announced that it had dispatched around a hundred agents to the field.
The telephone network was also impacted in the Arudy sector, in Haut-Béarn, the Pyrénées-Atlantiques prefecture said in a press release in the evening.
Flora Catala
A fallen tree on the RN 134 in Herrère
Around 4 p.m. on Wednesday, the RN 134 was closed following the fall of a tree near the town of Herrère, closure in both directions according to Bison Futé. In the afternoon, the firefighters of 64 reported “a large number of calls for trees having fallen on the road or having torn out electrical cables.“Around sixty interventions were carried out, in progress or to come. A forward command post was opened in the Arudy sector.
Several municipalities closed their parks and gardens this Wednesday, to avoid accidents, and canceled outdoor activities. This is the case at the Orthez-Biron leisure center but also in the parks, gardens and green spaces in Oloron-Sainte-Marie, Lourdes and Tarbes. The city of Pau closed its parks and gardens at the end of the afternoon and implemented security perimeters around trees in schools. The Hautes-Pyrénées and Pyrénées-Atlantiques prefectures recommend limiting travel and outdoor activities.
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