BBC News
10:44 GMT, Saturday, 24 January 2009
One million homes in south-west France are without electricity after the strongest storms for a decade brought down power lines.
Torrential rains and winds of up to 175km/h (108mph) struck the Atlantic coast between Bordeaux and the Spanish border, spreading inland overnight.
Fallen trees have blocked roads and railway lines. Several airports, including Bordeaux, have been closed.
No casualties were reported. Residents have been warned to stay indoors.
Blocked roads
The strong winds are expected to spread eastwards on Saturday towards the Mediterranean, with rain bringing a risk of flooding, weather experts said.
"The number of clients who are cut off from the grid is rising from minute to minute as the storm moves eastwards," Michel Francony, head of the regional electricity grid operator ERDF, told local radio.
He said that 1,000 technicians had been deployed to try to restore power by the end of the day but that blocked roads were hampering their efforts.
The storms are the most powerful to hit the region since December 1999, when 88 people were killed and some four million homes left without power.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7848719.stm
10:44 GMT, Saturday, 24 January 2009
One million homes in south-west France are without electricity after the strongest storms for a decade brought down power lines.
Torrential rains and winds of up to 175km/h (108mph) struck the Atlantic coast between Bordeaux and the Spanish border, spreading inland overnight.
Fallen trees have blocked roads and railway lines. Several airports, including Bordeaux, have been closed.
No casualties were reported. Residents have been warned to stay indoors.
Blocked roads
The strong winds are expected to spread eastwards on Saturday towards the Mediterranean, with rain bringing a risk of flooding, weather experts said.
"The number of clients who are cut off from the grid is rising from minute to minute as the storm moves eastwards," Michel Francony, head of the regional electricity grid operator ERDF, told local radio.
He said that 1,000 technicians had been deployed to try to restore power by the end of the day but that blocked roads were hampering their efforts.
The storms are the most powerful to hit the region since December 1999, when 88 people were killed and some four million homes left without power.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7848719.stm
