Storm wreaks havoc in France

Severe storms and thunderstorms swept through southwestern France, leaving tens of thousands of homes without power early on July 11th. The intense weather, characterized by numerous lightning strikes overnight, caused significant disruptions but fortunately resulted in no reported injuries.

According to French electricity distribution data, around 20,000 homes were still without power as of that morning. The outages were primarily caused by fallen trees and branches that damaged power lines, disrupting the energy supply to a large number of residents.

The storm's intensity was underscored by the Keraunos storm observatory, which recorded a total of 64,000 lightning flashes across southwestern France during the night and into the morning. Of these, 7,800 were direct ground strikes. In some areas, these lightning strikes and downed power lines ignited more than 20 fires, all of which have since been brought under control by emergency services.

Adding to the challenging weather conditions, parts of France, including Paris and its suburbs, were placed under a red weather alert due to a heatwave on the same day. This combination of extreme weather events highlights the vulnerability of the region to meteorological challenges.