Remnants of Hurricane Kirk reach France, leaving at least one dead

After leaving power outages and uprooted trees across western Europe, Hurricane Kirk reached southern France and caused torrential rains that killed an amateur sailor in the French port town of Sète and prompted authorities to put all French departments on alert.

The remnants of Hurricane Kirk swept across western Europe on Wednesday, knocking down trees in Portugal and Spain, before torrential rain in France that left at least one person dead.

A storm surge in the Mediterranean off the port city of Sete in southern France overturned three boats, killed one amateur sailor and sent another to hospital in critical condition, authorities in the Herault department said.

Some 64,000 people in southern France also remained without power, grid operator Enedis told AFP, while several ministries reported roads were cut off by flooding.

After a crisis response meeting in Paris, Energy and Ecological Transition Minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher told reporters the government was mobilizing “all state services” and urged citizens to be careful.

“These episodes will tend to repeat themselves. We live in a time when climate change is making itself felt in our daily lives,” she said.

Authorities have put the Seine-et-Marne department near Paris on flood alert as rain swelled the Grand Morin river, a tributary of the Seine that flows through the French capital.

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