Storm Ciaran kills driver in northern France, breaks wind speed records

A driver died in northern France due to Storm Ciaran, the nation's transport minister announced on Thursday.

Clement Beaune told broadcaster Franceinfo that a driver died when a tree fell on his truck in the department of Aisne.

The country saw exceptional wind speeds in its western parts on Wednesday, according to media reports, and Energy Minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher said on X that 1.2 million people lost power.

Records were broken in the region of Bretagne, on the Atlantic coast, the country's weather authority Meteo France announced on Thursday morning, including in the city of Quimper at 147 kilometers per hour (91.3 miles per hour) and the town of Plogoff with 207 kph (128.6 mph).

The storm uprooted trees and damaged buildings and roofs, according to broadcaster BFMTV.

The prefecture of Finistere also prohibited all traffic on Thursday in the entire department due to road damage, daily Le Figaro said.

Meteo France updated its alert map and left one department on the western coast, Manche, on red alert, and 23 others on orange alert in northern and western France.

Storm Ciaran on Wednesday hit the UK, Ireland, France, and the Iberian peninsula shared by Spain and Portugal.