PARIS, Nov 3 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Storm Ciaran smashed into western Europe on Thursday, killing six people and forcing schools, airports and train services to shut down.
A truck driver was killed when a tree fell on him in France while a second death was reported in Le Havre, according to authorities.
Falling trees also caused the death of a woman in the Spanish capital Madrid and another in the south of the Netherlands, local emergency services and police said.
Two people died in the Belgian town of Ghent – a five-year-old and a 64-year-old German woman visiting the country – the prosecutor’s office said. Both deaths were caused by falling branches.
In France, 1.2 million households were left without electricity.
Storm Ciaran, which follows on the heels of Storm Babet two weeks ago, was driven by a powerful jet stream that swept in from the Atlantic, unleashing heavy rain and furious winds that have already caused heavy flooding in Northern Ireland and parts of Britain.
French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin told reporters that in addition to the death of truck driver, 15 people, including seven firefighters, had been injured. One person was seriously injured in the northern French town of Roubaix, he said.
In Britain, the Channel Islands were among the worst hit areas, forcing families to move into nearby hotels.
Dutch Airline KLM scrapped hundreds of flights to and from Amsterdam, while international trains from the Dutch capital to Paris were also cancelled, and shipping lanes in the southwest of the country were closed. Airport operator AENA said 42 flights in Spain were cancelled. — NNN-AGENCIES
