Storm kills a man in France and causes damage in Spain and Portugal

One person is killed and many households are left without electricity during a severe storm in France. 

According to Laurent Nuñez, Minister of the Interior, the man died overnight on Thursday in the south-west of the country. According to media reports, the driver of a lorry whose car was hit by tree branches. Some 850,000 households in southern France had no electricity in the morning, media reported, citing operator „Enedis“.

There is currently the highest – red – alert level in place in five French departments due to storm Nils. According to the meteorological service „Météo France“, the storm is of a rare strength. Overnight, wind gusts reached gusts of more than 160 km/h. Some train services were cancelled. There were also restrictions on road traffic.

In the Catalonia region of Spain, the authorities issued a red alert and closed schools as a precaution due to the high winds. Speeds of up to 167 km/h have been measured, according to the newspaper „La Vanguardia“. Seven people were injured by falling trees. Rail, road and air transport were disrupted for some time.

Winds of up to 150 km/h were blowing in the mountains of Mallorca, the meteorological service „Aemet“ reported. There are no reports of possible casualties or major damage at this time.

In Portugal, a dam along the Mondego River collapsed and the slope of a major viaduct failed. Half of the carriageway has collapsed – the major A 1 motorway linking the capital Lisbon in the south with the country's second largest city, Porto, in the north will be closed for several weeks, TV station RRP reported. The bridge itself was not damaged.