Storm Ciaran: Record winds cause deaths in western Europe

Weather officials in northwestern Europe issued wind and rain warnings through Thursday due to Storm Ciaran, which is moving through the region towards the North Sea.

The UK's Meteorological Office said wind and rain warnings would remain in force until Friday and issued amber alerts for parts of southwest England and then the southeast of the country, later in the day. 

There was also the threat of flooding in coastal communities.

"Large waves and onshore gales brought by Storm Ciaran could see significant flooding along parts of the south coast tomorrow," said Ben Lukey from the UK government's Environment Agency.

Storm causes deaths across Europe

Falling trees killed at least five people across Europe on Thursday, including a woman who was hiking through the Harz Mountains in central Germany.

The 46-year-old woman from Bavaria was on the Rammelsberg mountain near Goslar when she was struck, the local fire bridge said.

Elsewhere, a lorry driver in his vehicle in France's Aisle, a man in the Dutch town of Venray, and a woman in central Madrid were all struck by falling trees. A local police report from the city of Ghent reported a Belgian person also lost their life.

Record wind speeds recorded in northwestern France

The storm is also making its presence felt over continental Europe where record wind speeds have been recorded. The weather system has also led to the cancellation of some flights, while power has been knocked out in some communities. 

"The wind gusts are exceptional in Brittany and many absolute records have been broken," the national weather service Meteo-France said on social media platform  X, formerly Twitter. 

It said winds of 193 km per hour (120 miles per hour) had been recorded in the town of Plougonvelin on the tip of the northwest coast, while the port city of Brest in Brittany saw gusts of 156 kilömeters per hour.

France's Transport Minister Clement Beaune told local radio that a truck driver died in the Aisne department, northeast of Paris when a tree fell on his truck.

Power outages and some flights canceled

The weather system also caused power outages among 1.2 million households in France.

Energy Minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher said teams of technicians were working to restore power supply.

As many as 780,000 households were affected in the area of Brittany, located in the northwest of France.

Dutch airline KLM had to scrap dozens of flights from Amsterdam's Schiphol airport on Thursday with gusts of wind up to 110 kilometers per hour (68 miles per hour) being experienced.

"We have decided to cancel all KLM flights to and from Schiphol from early afternoon until the end of the day," the airline said.

Residents evacuated on island of Jersey

Authorities on the island of Jersey evacuated dozens of people from their homes as strong wind and rain lashed the largest of the Channel Islands.

Police on the island said 35 people had to be moved from their homes to hotel accommodation as winds hit 164 kilometers per hour (102 miles per hour). The Island's meteorological office issued a red wind warning — the highest warning level.

All ferry services from the Channel port of Dover had to be canceled on account of the weather.

Germany issues warnings

The German Weather Service (DWD) on Thursday also issued warnings for the German North Sea and Baltic Sea coastal areas.

Germany's East Frisia and Heligoland would be particularly affected and on the Baltic Sea, strong winds were expected to continue, but stronger gusts are to be expected from Flensburg to Fehmarn and the island of Rügen.

km, kb/rt (Reuters, dpa)