Storm Mathis causes the death of two men in the Grand-Est region

THIERRY ZOCCOLAN / AFP

A 19-year-old man died after a tree fell on a rest area in Senones (Vosges) this Friday March 31 (photo illustration)

WEATHER – Drama related to “strong winds” caused by storm Mathis which swept through the northern third of France. Two men died in the Vosges and Alsace after falling trees on Friday March 31.

The first, a 19-year-old man, died at a rest area in Senones (Vosges). The victim was walking in a rest area near his vehicle when he was hit by a falling tree, Senones firefighters told AFP, confirming information from the daily. Morning Vosges.

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Dispatched to the scene, the firefighters and the Samu Lorraine services tried to resuscitate him, in vain. A helicopter was also called in, but the body was eventually taken over by funeral services.

In the evening, another young man, in his twenties, was fatally hit by a tree while driving on a road south of Mulhouse (Haut-Rhin), we learned from from the central police station of the city, confirming information from the newspaper Alsace. His passenger was hospitalized “in serious condition”.

During the day, several motorists had reported trunks across the road on this secondary road linking Bruebach to Mulhouse.

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Several tornadoes

The Mathis storm led to the classification in yellow or orange vigilance, this Friday, of 80 French departments. It also caused damage in other departments, particularly in Indre, where the town hall of Buzançais reported a “tornado”. Firefighters intervened 55 times in the town for falling trees, chimneys and torn roofs. A school was also hit, with no injuries.

In Vienne, another tornado caused damage without causing injuries in the village of Saint-Jean-de-Sauve, according to the prefecture. A few houses lost their roofs, a nursing home and a school courtyard were also affected.

The Normandy Bridge was closed to traffic due to weather conditions.

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Pas-de-Calais always on the lookout

Météo France has classified 78 departments in yellow vigilance ” thunderstorms “ and or “strong winds”. “The west to southwest wind blows very strongly inland, gusts often reach 70 to 80 km/h, locally 90 to 100 km/h under storm squalls”specifies the organization in its daily bulletin.

The Pas-de-Calais and the English Channel have been classified as orange alert, with gusts of up to “up to 110 km/h, even 120 km/h on the coast”. In the middle of the afternoon this Friday, only Pas-de-Calais remained concerned by orange vigilance.

Some departments of the Alps are also classified in yellow vigilance “avalanche”while the departments of Gironde, Landes and Pyrénées-Atlantiques are classified as “waves-submersion”.

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