Traffic has been partially restricted in the English Channel and in northwestern France due to an approaching storm. France’s Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin advised people to stay at home.
“I encourage French people everywhere in France not to go out on the night of Wednesday to Thursday. And if they do go out, not to be near watercourses and not near the sea.” Affected communities reinforced dams with sandbags or built additional barricades near the coast.
The hurricane “Emir” (international “Ciaràn”) is expected to hit the French Atlantic and the English southern coast from this evening. The French weather service Météo France expects squalls with speeds of up to 170 kilometers per hour on Thursday night. For the three departments of Finistère, les Côtes-d’Armor and Manche, the highest warning level, red, applies from midnight to Thursday morning due to strong winds. Floods and storm waves are also threatening in France’s northwest.
Ferry company cancels connections
The ferry company Condor has already canceled its passenger and freight services between the Channel Islands and Great Britain for Wednesday and Thursday. The company DFDS canceled trips between Dieppe in France and Newhaven in England. Regional train services in the regions of Brittany, Normandy, Pays de Loire, Hauts de France and Center Val de Loire will also be partially suspended from late Wednesday evening and on Thursday.
According to the Met Office, wind speeds of up to 85 miles per hour (almost 140 kilometers per hour) are expected in Great Britain. Meteorologists warned of a danger to life on Thursday from flying debris, covered roofs, torn down power cables and falling trees. Coastal areas in the southwest and southeast of England are particularly affected.
Weather warnings for heavy rain had been issued for large parts of southern England, Wales and Scotland today.
Storm and hurricane gusts of up to 120 kilometers per hour are also possible on the Belgian and Dutch North Sea coast.
According to the German Weather Service (DWD), Germany will only reach the hurricane depth in a very weakened form. The DWD expects storm gusts of a maximum of 85 kilometers per hour, especially at higher altitudes and on the North Sea coast, up to 100 kilometers per hour on the Brocken in the Harz Mountains.
