In two days, two storms swept through France, leaving behind flooded streets, shattered boats and thousands of homes without power.
During the night of Monday to Tuesday January 17, 26 departments were placed in orange vigilance.
After a particularly mild start to winter, the two disruptions were accompanied by a wave of cold and frost.
A 66-year-old motorist died in Gironde after hitting a fallen pine tree on the road.
Waves raging in the west
The first storm, named Gerard, roamed the north and west of France, battering the raging sea along the coasts.
Strong winds unleashed the sea which crashed along the Atlantic coasts.
LOIC VENANCE / AFP
Violent winds, going up to 160 km / h, frenzied the waves carrying with them moored boats, as here in Cherbourg in Normandy.
Powerful gusts were recorded, exceeding 150 km / h at the Pointe du Raz in Finistère and 130 km / h at Ouessant in Finistère.
Violent winds, going up to 160 km / h, frenzied the waves which carried with them moored boats, as in Saint-Malo.
LOU BENOIST / AFP
Rail and road traffic were disrupted.
Delays on the TER punctuated the days of Monday 16 and Tuesday 17 January.
The SNCF has identified "
more than 30 incidents
" following fallen trees, damaged equipment.
In one day, 75,000 people were deprived of electricity.
Monday evening, there were only 15,000 customers living in the dark and lighting themselves by candlelight.
That is six times less than at the end of the morning, "
mainly in Normandy, Pays de la Loire, Center Val-de-Loire, Burgundy and Alsace Franche-Comté
", according to the manager of the Enedis network, which has deployed 2,000 staff and contractors on field.
If a person died in Gironde, by hitting a fallen tree on the road, no other victim is currently to be deplored.
In Saint-Brevin-les-Pins in Loire-Atlantique, a couple in their seventies did not go far from a disaster.
As they slept, a tree collapsed in the next room.
In less than a day, firefighters have intervened 57 times since Sunday evening in the western department.
Among their neighbors in the Channel, the sappers were called more than 500 times, for trees or floods.
In the North, major floods
The West is not the only territory to have been swept by the winds of storm Gérard.
In the North, torrential rains pushed the rivers out of their beds, such as the Hem and the Liane in the Pas-de-Calais, whose level had already been high in recent days.
Entire roads were engulfed in muddy waters within hours.
The firefighters intervened, just for the department of Pas-de-Calais, more than fifty times.
The South prepares for the passage of Fien
Unlike its brother Gerard, storm Fien is concentrated in the southwest of the country.
Heavy rains fell in the Basque Country, causing rivers to come out of their beds, as here in Salies-de-Béarn.
If there is, to date, no injuries or serious accidents, many trees have been laid down, electrical cables torn, blown by gusts of wind at more than 150 km / h.
