Deadly Storm Ciaran wreaks havoc on western Europe

Venray; The record-breaking winds of Storm Ciaran in France and neighboring countries have left at least seven people dead, authorities said.

The storm wreaked homes, stranded travelers and cut power to vast regions as it swept through western Europe.

Wind speeds rose to over 190 kilometres per hour (118 miles per hour), uprooting trees and blowing out windows of homes in the northern tip of France’s Atlantic coast.

The powerful storm hit the northwest of France and the southwest of England on Wednesday night before moving on to the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and Italy on Thursday.

A truck driver was killed in northern France’s inland Aisne region when his vehicle was hit by a tree, Transport Minister Clement Beaune said. He urged people to stay off the roads and not drive in the storm.

”We see how roads can be fatal in these circumstances,” he told broadcaster France-Info.

Meanwhile, a 70-year-old man in the port city of Le Havre died in a fall from his balcony.

France’s interior ministry said at least 15 people were injured in the storm, including seven firefighters.

Two people were killed by falling tree branches in the Belgian city of Ghent. One of them was a 5-year-old child. A 3-year-old was slightly injured in the same incident, the Ghent prosecutor’s office said in a statement.

Falling tree branches also hit three German tourists in the central Ghent Citadel Park, killing a 64-year-old woman.

In northern Germany, a 46-year-old woman was fatally injured by a falling tree in the Harz mountains.

Dutch media reported that several people had been hit by falling trees in the Netherlands. One person was killed in the southern town of Venray.