Storm Amélie leaves thousands without electricity in France Published duration 3 November 2019

media caption Storm Amélie hits southern France, toppling trees and damaging power lines

Tens of thousands of homes have been left without power in France, as Storm Amélie brought heavy winds and rains to the Atlantic coast and southern areas.

Electricity supplier Enedis said power cuts were affecting 55,000 homes, mostly in the western Nouvelle Aquitaine region, at 17:00 (16:00 GMT).

A number of departments were placed on "orange alert" throughout the day because of the extreme weather.

Winds in some places had exceeded 163km/h (100mph).

Emergency services responded to hundreds of callouts on Sunday, as heavy winds brought down trees and electricity cables.

No deaths have been confirmed, but a woman in her seventies was reported missing after a landslide in southern Nice, AFP news agency reports.

In the south-west of the country, six people sustained minor injuries, mainly caused by falling branches, AFP said.

image copyright AFP image caption Storm Amélie brought big waves to France's south-west coast

Enedis said 1,700 employees were working to restore power for some 55,000 homes.

The number of households affected earlier stood at 140,000. They were mainly in the regions of Nouvelle Aquitaine, Pays de la Loire, Auvergne, and Occitanie.

Heavy rainfall and winds were also seen in the south-east of France.

Railway operator SNCF said several trains were cancelled or delayed because of the extreme weather, while two motorways were temporarily closed.

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