
© Iroz Gaizka, AFPA man runs by the sea in the Grande Plage of Biarritz in south western France on November 3, 2019, during Storm Amelie
Storm Amelie caused high winds to blast southwest France on Sunday, whipping up giant ocean waves, uprooting trees and l
eaving some 140,000 people without electricity, authorities said.
Fourteen of the country's 101 departments were placed on high alert as storm Amelie brought heavy rains to the Atlantic coast,
with winds exceeding 160 kilometres per hour in places. Emergency services attended to hundreds of callouts as gusts dropped trees on roads and railway tracks, and tore loose live electrical cables.
By midday, rescue services and prefectures had reported only three minor injuries - including one hospitalisation
- in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, mainly due to falling branches.
Comment: RT updates on Storm Amelie: