Mother Nature’s Fury: Hurricane-Strength, Raging Storms Slam Europe… UK on Storm Alert, France Hardest Hit, Declared ‘Catastrophe’ (video)
Posted By Vicki McClure Davidson on February 28, 2010
Winter storm batters France with hurricane-strength winds this weekend
More of Mother Nature’s fury… cold, raging storms are rampaging Europe, hitting France the hardest.
From Real Clear News: Fierce Storms in Europe Kill 51, Mostly in France:
A violent late winter storm with fierce rain and hurricane-strength winds ripped across western Europe on Sunday, battering France and four other countries, leaving at least 51 people dead.
The storm, named Xynthia, was the worst in France since 1999 when 90 people died.
Many of the 45 victims in France drowned, while others died when hit by parts of buildings or trees and branches that were ripped off by the wind. At least a dozen people were missing Sunday and 59 others were injured.
Three people died in Spain, one was killed in Germany and a child was crushed to death in Portugal. The storm also hit Belgium, but no deaths were reported there.
Nearly 900,000 people in France were without electricity. Rivers overflowed their banks in Brittany, while high tides and pounding waves swamped Atlantic Ocean communities. The threat of avalanches was high in the Pyrenees Mountains and the southern Alps due to wind and wet snow.
Sea walls broke in the town of L’Aguillon, where the ocean waters reached the roofs of some homes. Helicopters lifted people to safety throughout the day.
In Paris, winds knocked over motorcycles and spewed garbage around the streets of the capital. Flights were delayed and at least 100 were canceled at the two main Paris airports. A number of trains throughout France were delayed because of flooded tracks.
Winds reached about 130 mph (200 kph) on the summits of the Pyrenees and up to nearly 100 mph (160 kph) along the Atlantic Coast. The storm hit the Vendee and Charente-Maritime regions in southwestern France hardest, flooding coastal islands and tossing boats around in ports.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Interior Minister Brice Hortefeux planned to visit the worst hit regions Monday.
The storm was moving eastward and parts of France along the border with Germany and Belgium were on alert for heavy rain and high winds.
From ABC News, Britain, France Paralyzed by Storm:
Gale-force winds, rains, hail, tornadoes and even snow battered Britain and France as a massive storm packing every kind of punch hammered the region.
Overnight storms stranded ferry passengers at sea, uprooted trees, knocked out power to thousands of homes and shut down roads and railways.
Seven people died in the storm, which swept across southern Britain from the Atlantic before sweeping into western Europe.
Winds of 90 to 100 mph stranded six ferries in the British Channel. It was too dangerous to dock and too dangerous to turn back, so the ships sought shelter in a bay on the southeast coast of England to wait out the storm.
Passengers calling in to local radio stations on cell phones described conditions on board. “The crew is trying to deal with the swells and the shifting of the boat. It’s really quite worrying,” said one.
“All you see are people lining the lounges being ill,” said another.
Deadly Storm in France | February 28, 2010
From CNN, Storm batters Europe, at least 51 dead:
Paris, France (CNN) — A winter storm named “Xynthia” battered the western coast of Europe Sunday, its high winds downing trees and power lines and leaving as many as 51 people dead, authorities said.
Hardest hit was France, where at least 45 people were killed, French Prime Minister Francois Fillon announced.
The extra-tropical cyclone whipped the country’s coastal regions and moved inland, bringing sometimes heavy flooding with it.
“It’s a national catastrophe,” Fillon said in a brief news conference. “Many people drowned, surprised by the rapid rise of the water.”
The departments of Vendee and Charente-Maritime, on the French coast west of Paris, had severe flooding flooding when the strong winds whipped up the water at high tide.
Harsh winter storms and record-breaking cold that hit all over the world, as shown in this photo of China in January 2010, are not over... now Europe is being hammered by deadly winter storms, the worst of which is in France
News Of The World, Flood warnings issued as storms lashing Europe hit UK: Britain on storm alert:
Parts of Britain are on flood alert today as a storm which claimed at least 50 lives in Europe smashed its way onto our shores.
Central France has been the worst hit by Cyclone Cynthia where deadly floods and 60mph winds have caused drownings and a string of fatal accidents. More than a million homes were without power there early today.
Cynthia, described as the “perfect storm”, has whipped winds of up to 120mph across Spain – and forecasters have predicted further flooding here.
Areas such as Dorset were expected to bear the brunt, with Cynthia set to smash roofs, damage buildings and topple trees.
The violent storm caused chaos in the Canaries before tearing up to northern Spain, with waves as high as a seven-storey building reported.
Here, separate snow and flood warnings were already in place in the north and Scotland. Parts of Essex were also under water.
A warning of even more serious flooding which could put lives and property at risk was issued by the Environment Agency with flood warnings in place across much of England and a severe flood warning – the highest level – has issued for parts of Cambridgeshire.
From National Post, France to declare ‘catastrophe’ after storm kills 45:
PARIS — France will formally declare the storm that battered its Atlantic coast, killing at least 45 people and flooding several towns, a “natural catastrophe”, Prime Minister Francois Fillon said on Sunday.
Mr. Fillon held an emergency meeting of ministers to assess the disaster before announcing the decision, which will free up state funds to help local communities rebuild in the wake of the disaster.
“It’s a national catastrophe and my first thoughts are therefore for the families of the victims, to whom I would like to present condolences from the government and the nation,” he said.
Mr. Fillon also announced a plan to reinforce sea walls and dykes.
The low-lying western regions of the Vendée and Charente-Maritime bore the brunt of the storm, which barrelled in off the Atlantic and forced flood water hundreds of metres inland, sending householders scurrying onto roof tops.
Rescue teams in lifeboats and helicopters rushed into action, but the interior ministry confirmed that at least 45 people had been killed, mainly through drowning, although some were hit by flying debris.
From Sky News, Dozens Killed As Major Storm Batters France:
At least 40 people have been killed in France after it was battered by heavy rain and hurricane-force winds in the country’s worst storm for more than a decade.
Many victims drowned in floods, while others died when they were hit by falling trees and branches or when parts of buildings broke off.
Strong gusts reached speeds of about 130mph on the summits of the Pyrenees and almost 100mph along the Atlantic Coast.
More than one million residents suffered power cuts. Worst affected was central France and Brittany, where rivers overflowed.
In the capital Paris, winds knocked over motorbikes and rubbish was thrown around the streets.
Flights were delayed and at least 100 were cancelled at the two main airports due to the storm, named Xynthia.
A number of trains throughout France were delayed because of flooded tracks.
The storm, the deadliest in France since 90 people were killed in 1999, later hit Germany and Belgium.
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Oh without a doubt this has to be the result of anthropogenic CO2 global warming, going to stick the garden hose in the tail pipe and give the world a final blast. LOL Seriously the strange weather we are seeing of late are the result of strong el ninos, check it out google it. It’s called natural climate change. I’m Jim
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