Gales leave 13,000 homes blacked out

MORE THAN 400 EDF technicians are battling to restore electricity to about 13,000 homes in south-east France, after high winds brought down power lines across three departments.

But their efforts to restore power to some 8,000 properties in just one of the affected departments - Gard - overnight have been hampered by gusts of up to 140kph. Some homeowners have been blacked out since 8pm last night, ERDF said.

A spokesman for the regional arm of the electricity firm said that falling trees were to blame for most of the damage, but added that the situation should be “virtually back to normal” by the evening.

As reported, national forecaster Meteo-France issued an orange alert for high winds in five departments yesterday.

In Gard, which bore the brunt of the winds overnight, some 260 technicians, supported by two helicopters, are working to restore power.

Meanwhile, 60 technicians are working to restore electricity to 4,100 homes in the Arles area of Bouches-du-Rhône, and another 100 are on the scene in Vaucluse, where 1,400 homes have been affected.

Photo: 6SN7