One dead and woman left in coma as storms sweep France: more alerts issued

Violent storms swept across large swathes of France overnight on Friday, leaving widespread property damage and resulting in the death of a man and leaving a woman in a coma from a serious head injury. More storms are forecast for today (Sunday June 15). 

State forecaster Météo-France issued a high (orange) weather alert on Friday, June 13, for 28 departments due to what it called a “strong storm system” capable of producing violent phenomena.

In the Normandy and the Centre-Val de Loire region, the storms brought hail of up to 5cm in diameter and high winds, with damage reported in several departments. 

"They were big as tennis balls," one Normandy resident told FranceInfo. "I was outside as it started to fall but went back in very quickly because it hurt too much. It was really impressive. I've got holes in my roof that I can put my fist through."

A rare tornado was also confirmed in Eure-et-Loir, destroying a barn in the village of Jaudrais.

However it was in the Ile-de-France region that the storms were most devastating, causing the death of a man in the small village of Grandchamp, Yvelines, on the edge of the Rambouillet forest.

A group of seven had sought shelter in a wooden hunting lodge when a tree is reported to have been struck by lightning and collapsed onto the structure shortly before 22:00. 

Six of the group escaped unhurt, but a 68-year-old man was crushed under the debris.

Rescue operations involved around 30 firefighters, including specialist search and clearing teams, and continued until the early hours of Saturday morning. 

Despite their efforts, the man was declared dead at the scene. An investigation into the circumstances has been opened by the Houdan gendarmerie.

Roughly an hour later, in Paris’s 5th arrondissement, a woman suffered a serious head injury after being struck by a falling branch. 

Emergency services transported her in a critical condition to Henri-Mondor hospital in Créteil. 

On Saturday, she was reported to be in a coma.

Météo France has kept 34 departments on (yellow) alert and 14 on high (orange) alert for Sunday, June 15, warning of moderate to locally intense thunderstorms from the Massif Central to the Ardennes.

“These thunderstorms will be accompanied by intense rainfall (around 30 to 40mm in an hour), hail, strong gusts and significant electrical activity,” says the state forecaster .

The worst of the stormy weather is forecast to strike the east of the country. The storms are expected to subside in all areas by Monday morning.