Storm Bert hit the south-east of France this Monday, November 25.
In Lyon, the wind had never blown so strongly in November.
Overview of the damage in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes.
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Storms, thunderstorms, floods… the weather is getting out of control in France
Residents are gradually discovering the damage. Storm Bert swept across the south-east of France this Monday, November 25. The Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region was the most affected. Trees uprooted, roofs torn off by the wind… The damage is only material but it disrupted public transport for several hours, as shown in the TF1 news video at the top of this article.
Gusts of 125 km/h in Lyon
In Mions, south of Lyon, firefighters carried out around sixty interventions linked to the storm. Mickaël Paccaud, the mayor (LR) of the town, is also mobilized and identifies the damage: “Trees on vehicles, trees 15 to 20 m high on houses… We haven’t seen that for a while”he assures at the microphone of TF1.
Lyon was not spared. Wind gusts of up to 125 km/h were recorded, a record for the month of November. In other towns in the Rhône, in Écully and Irigny for example, the images bear witness to the violence of the storm. Some cars were crushed by falling trees, however, causing no injuries. The roofs of a supermarket and a high school even flew off.
Pruners were therefore overloaded with work clearing roads and sidewalks. “I just had another call and I think it’s not over. We need to intervene quickly”testifies Jean Colas, manager of the Colas Élagage company.
Tram, bus and trains cut
The wind caused several accidents on the A47 motorway. At Givors (Rhône), the trailer of a truck completely overturned on the road. All day long, travel was complicated by car but also by bike. Many cyclists, even when well equipped, had to complete their journey on foot.
Finally, public transport was interrupted at the end of the day. “Not a train available, so afterwards we said to ourselves that we were going to take the tram, but no”says a young woman. “I’ve been waiting for 20 minutes for the relay buses and so far, I haven’t seen any”insists another.
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Storm Bert: many trains canceled, update on SNCF traffic disruptions
This Monday evening, thousands of homes remain without electricity in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. There were more than 8,000 this morning but Enedis says it is mobilized to resupply its customers as quickly as possible.
The weather conditions should now calm down. No longer is any department placed on orange alert by Météo-France.
