The authorities launch an appeal “with the greatest caution”, including in the woods. Before the arrival of storm Ciaran, the National Forestry Office invited the French, Tuesday October 31, “not to go to the forest” in Brittany, Normandy, Pays de la Loire and on the coast of Hauts-de-France, all areas which must go into orange or even red vigilance during the night from Wednesday to Thursday. This recommendation applies from Thursday until the end of the weekend, because the risk of falling trees and branches “may extend further a few days after the storms”. Follow our live stream.
Three departments on red alert from midnight. Finistère, Côtes-d’Armor and Manche will be placed on red “violent wind” alert from midnight next night, due to this “very strong autumn storm”. Seventeen other departments, from Vendée to the North, will go into orange vigilance for “waves-submersion”, “wind” or “rain-flooding”, according to Météo-France.
Gérald Darmanin calls for people to stay at home. The Minister of the Interior recommended, on Tuesday, “across the entire national territory”of “do not go out during the night from Wednesday to Thursday” to avoid damage caused by strong winds. He called on the French to still leave their homes “not to be near rivers and near the sea”particularly in Finistère, Morbihan, Côtes-d’Armor, Ille-et-Vilaine, Manche and Loire-Atlantique, faced with “a greater danger”.
Transportation disrupted. The arrival of this powerful storm led the SNCF to announce the interruption for Thursday of all TER lines in the Brittany, Pays de la Loire, Normandy and Centre-Val de Loire regions, as well as in Hauts -of France. The TGVs will only run between Paris and Rennes for Brittany, without going as far as Brest, Quimper or Saint-Malo. Paris-Lille connections will be ensured. Brest Bretagne airport will be closed from Wednesday 5 p.m. to Thursday 9:30 a.m. Boat connections with the islands will be very disrupted, or even suspended.
Firefighters on alert. The Minister of the Interior reported that 3,200 firefighters will be mobilized in the four Breton departments, as well as Manche and Loire-Atlantique. For the department of Finistère alone, which could be the most affected, more than 650 firefighters were called for the night from Wednesday to Thursday, compared to 250 usually, as well as more than 435 gendarmes. “Road cuts and falling trees are to be feared”warned the prefect, calling on the population to avoid all travel, especially after 9 p.m.