One Dead, 850,000 Homes Lose Power as Storm Nils Batters France
The man was killed in the Landes department near the town of Mees when a tree branch fell onto his truck, media reported.
France’s national weather agency, Meteo-France, issued red alerts for four departments—Savoie, Aude, Gironde, and Lot-et-Garonne—citing risks of avalanches, extreme winds, and severe flooding.
Power grid operator Enedis reported that around 850,000 homes were without electricity early Thursday, including 485,000 in Nouvelle-Aquitaine and 318,000 in Occitanie, the regions most affected by the storm.
Overnight wind gusts reached up to 162 km/h (101 mph) in Biscarrosse (Landes), 157 km/h in Lege-Cap-Ferret (Gironde), 132 km/h in Millau (Aveyron), and 125 km/h in Toulouse. Forecasters said these speeds were unprecedented for February in some areas.
In Aude, still under red alert for violent winds, approximately 17,000 homes across 40 municipalities lost power. More than 600 Enedis workers were deployed alongside 769 firefighters and dozens of police and gendarmes.
Flood warnings were extended in Gironde and Lot-et-Garonne, with officials cautioning that river levels along the Garonne could rise further in the coming hours. In Langon, water levels more than doubled within 48 hours, surging from 3.80 meters to over 7 meters (23 feet). In Cadillac, levels surpassed 6 meters and were expected to approach or exceed previous flood records set in 2018 and 2006. Around 30 residents were evacuated overnight in La Reole (Gironde) as a precaution.
According to the flood monitoring service Vigicrues, 29 river sections were under orange alert, with “major overflows expected in the next 24 hours.” The agency warned that consecutive weeks of heavy rainfall had created conditions conducive to rapid flooding.
Avalanche threat reaches highest level in 17 years
In the Alps, authorities raised avalanche risk to level 5—the highest warning—in parts of Savoie, calling the situation “exceptional” and unseen in 17 years. Several ski resorts, including La Grave, were closed, while others such as Alpe d’Huez and Les Deux Alpes partially suspended operations. Resort officials urged skiers to remain strictly on marked trails as avalanche control operations continued.
An additional 32 departments, from Brittany to Corsica, were placed under orange alerts for high winds, heavy rain, flooding, or coastal submersion as Storm Nils swept across the country.
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