Storms: 50,000 lightning strikes, a woman killed in Rouen, festivalgoers and scouts evacuated, crops devastated in Occitania… the high price of bad weather

65 departments on orange storm alert was unheard of in France. In fact, the storms passed through many regions, accompanied by heavy precipitation, often hail and hail, and strong gusts of wind. The electrical activity was very intense, with a total of around 50,000 lightning strikes in 24 hours, Météo France noted.

This Sunday June 5 in the morning, during a press release, the Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin indicated that one person had died (read below) and that 15 people had been injured, two of them in serious condition. Among them is a 13-year-old girl who is “in critical condition,” the minister said. The latter also announced that 2,400 firefighters had been mobilized for 3,500 interventions in France.

A woman murdered in Rouen

The storms claimed one victim in Rouen: a woman in her forties. While she was on the street, she was swept away by a wave of water, knocking her to the ground and dragging her about 70 meters. She was trapped under a car, she couldn’t get up and died. “Witnesses of her saw her fall, they saw her go down the slope, but they couldn’t do anything,” explains a neighbor of Paris-Normandy. “The water was amazing, I had never seen that,” says another resident. The LaREM deputy for Seine-Maritime Damien Adam evokes “a veritable torrent of water” on the street where the victim lost his life. Several municipalities were flooded in Normandy: in Seine-Maritime or Eure-et-Loir.

A house struck by lightning in Seine-et-Marne

Lightning struck a house on Saturday night in Nanteuil-lès-Meaux in Seine-et-Marne. Videos on social media show its roof engulfed in flames.

The Armagnac vineyard badly damaged

In the Landes and the Gers, it was the storms on Friday night that caused significant damage. They touched the Armagnac vineyard where the vine was “cut down” and “plundered”. The winegrowers collected hail of several centimeters in diameter. “The number of affected vineyard hectares is estimated at between 4 and 5,000, and several tens of thousands of hectares of affected crops in the Gers. This corridor of hail covered the entire Lando-Gers border”, indicates the president of the Gers Chamber of Agriculture Bernard Malabirade. A real blow to the Armagnac vineyard that had already suffered from frost in spring. In Labastide-d’Armagnac (Landes), the mayor Alain Gaube believes he has lost between 70 and 90% of his vineyards. “On the ground there is a large part of the leaves and grapes. The grapes that remain (in the vineyard) are already brown, they are dead.” The 2023 harvest is in danger.

“In Montreal-du-Gers, we had hail bigger than a golf ball!”, According to the director of the Armagnac interprofessional, Olivier Goujon. In Le Frêche (Landes), the oenologist Nelly Lacave has found her 8.5 hectares of “chopped” vines. “In the vineyards there is nothing left, the roof of our agricultural warehouse is a giant Swiss cheese and the windows in the house have been broken. My father, who is almost 70 years old, has never seen this,” she said, she confided.

If there are no injuries in the Landes, 4,500 homes have been left without electricity.

Also read:
Bad weather in the Gers: “I think I lost 100% of my farm’s harvest”

40,000 festival goers evacuated to Ile-de-France

Due to thunderstorms, the concerts on the second day of the “We love green” festival in Vincennes, near Paris, were canceled this Saturday night. 40,000 people had to be evacuated to the Bois de Vincennes. It went well according to the organizers. “The evacuation of the 40,000 festival-goers was carried out calmly,” said Marie Sabot, creator and director of the festival, this Saturday night, in BFM-TV. Festival goers will be reimbursed.

30,000 refugee explorers in Chambord

In the National Estate of Chambord (Loir-et-Cher), 30,000 unit scouts from France gathered for the Pentecost weekend had to shelter, including a third inside the castle. “The storm passed around 4:30 pm, lasted a few minutes but was relatively strong and a gust of wind knocked down the Cubs’ tents,” said Damien Tardy, media relations officer for the 8-12 year old movement. . , took refuge in the castle in cooperation with the prefecture”, the oldest “on a sloping plain”, according to him.

15,000 homes without electricity

Across France, 15,000 homes lost power this Sunday morning, according to Enedis. No region is more affected than another, with bad weather being very localized.