At least 12 killed as hurricane-force winds and torrential rains bring flooding to central and western France
Cars drive on a partly collapsed road as a result of heavy floods in La Faute-sur-Mer, in western France, which has been hit by severe storms. Photograph: FRANK PERRY/AFP/Getty Images
France was today struggling to cope with one of its most violent storms in years as winds of more than 90mph swept through the country, killing at least 12 people and leaving 1m homes without power.
Parts of central and western France were the worst hit as gales and torrential rain felled trees and caused flooding.
At least seven people drowned in villages in the coastal Vendée department, while three elderly people and a child were found dead in Charente Maritime around La Rochelle.
A man was killed by a falling tree branch in the south-western town of Luchon, where winds reached 90mph.
As the storm, known as Xynthia, progressed northwards through France, five of the country's 95 departments were placed on red alert for only the second time in the emergency system's history.
The Météo France weather agency predicted the worst would be over by this afternoon as the storm headed towards Denmark.
Xynthia reached France yesterdayon after lashing parts of southern Europe with heavy winds and rain.
In northern Portugal, a 10-year-old boy was killed by a falling tree branch while playing football, and authorities in Spain said two men died when their car was crushed by a falling tree. Tens of thousands of homes were left without electricity.
The bad weather conditions caused transport chaos across France. Fallen trees and flooding caused roads and railway lines to be cut off, while some flights in and out of Charles de Gaulle (Roissy) airport, in northern Paris, were cancelled.
Authorities at the garden of Versailles reported that 30 trees had fallen overnight.
In the worst-hit areas on the western Atlantic coast, helicopters were deployed to rescue residents who had been forced to climb on to their roofs by floods.
According to Météo France, Xynthia is the most violent storm France has seen since December 1999, when high winds caused widespread damage across the country.
