France and Germany battered by strong winds and plunging temperatures, as schools closed and travel disrupted
Germany is expecting heavy snowfalls of up to 20cm after record winds of more than 210kph left almost 400,000 homes in France without electricity, as Storm Goretti battered north-western Europe.
No major or widespread damage to property was reported in France on Friday but one man was seriously hurt after slipping from his roof while trying to replace fallen tiles and 27 others suffered minor injuries, several requiring hospital treatment.
France’s national weather service, Météo-France, had issued severe weather warnings urging residents to remain home. Gusts of 213kph (132mph) and 216kph (134mph) were recorded overnight at Gatteville and Val-de-Saire in Normandy.
Windspeed records were also broken in Brittany, and a gust of 148kph (92mph) was registered at the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris. More than 380,000 homes mainly, in Normandy and Brittany, were without power on Friday lunchtime.
