A heavy truck driver died in an accident caused by Storm Nils in France, where the bad weather left about 850,000 homes without electricity, authorities announced today.
The road accident, near Dax in the Landes department (southwest), “was caused by the fall of a tree branch,” according to a spokesperson for the municipality. In the same area gusts of wind reached up to 162 kilometres per hour, higher along the coast, at Biscarrosse.
Approximately 850,000 residences were without power nationwide this morning, including 485,000 in Nouvelle-Aquitaine and 318,000 in Occitanie, two southwestern regions.
With the heavy rains of the past few weeks, the soil is saturated, making trees and infrastructure more vulnerable to strong winds. Storm Nils is a low-pressure system that brings heavy rain and is now heading toward the Mediterranean region.
