Faced with exceptionally strong winds from Storm Ciaran, the transport networks in north-west France were particularly tested on the morning of Thursday, November 2. After very violent gusts in Finistère, in the early hours of the morning, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGAC), responsible for air traffic safety, requested the closure of several airports. Particularly those of Brest and Quimper, but also of Limoges.
When questioned, the DGAC said “monitor the situation hour by houre” and assured that “measures can be taken” following the evolution of the weather. Thus, the reopening of Brest and Quimper airports “was falling behind” Thursday morning and the two platforms had to remain closed longer than expected, while planes, which were to land in Nantes, were diverted to Toulouse-Blagnac or Bordeaux-Mérignac.
The DGAC also indicated that it could ask certain airports, notably Paris – Orly and Roissy – Charles-de-Gaulle – “to reduce their flight schedule” depending on the evolution of storm Ciaran. At the start of the morning, the DGAC further reported, the two platforms in the Paris region were little affected. Only were planned “some delays during takeoffs and landing” planes. The big gale quickly overflowed the borders of France. Amsterdam Airport Schiphol announced flight cancellations on Thursday due to the weather.
“There are very strong risks”
More than in the air, it is on land that the disturbances are the strongest. Thursday morning, the prefect of Finistère announced in a press release that traffic was prohibited on the entire departmental road network (apart from emergency vehicles). The violent gusts of wind brought down numerous tree branches onto the roads and caused several power lines to break. “This ban will be gradually lifted as the clearance operations progress, for which all very important resources are mobilized”informed the prefecture.
In Aisne, on the national 31, between Soissons and Compiègne, the fall of a tree caused the death of a heavy goods vehicle driver, while this department of Hauts-de-France was only on alert YELLOW. The accident took place around 4:30 a.m. and did not cause any other casualties, the driver being alone in his vehicle, the prefecture said. The Minister of Transport, Clément Beaune, discussing this accident early Thursday morning on Franceinfo, stressed that “even in departments which are not on red alert, there are very strong risks, very strong dangers on the road”. In Oise, placed on orange alert and where gusts reached 100 kilometers per hour, a person was slightly injured after hitting a tree that had fallen on the road.
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