Around 270,000 customers were left without power on Thursday afternoon, November 21, due to winter storm Caetano, which caused especially heavy snowfall.
At 6:00 p.m., according to Enedis, the main manager of the electrical grid in France, the power outages especially affected Normandy (90,000 customers), Pays de la Loire (61,500) and Centre-Val de Loire (27,000). The public group stated that it had mobilized 1,400 agents to restore the situation as quickly as possible.
On Friday, thirty-one departments will remain under orange surveillance for snow, ice and wind, compared to about fifty on Thursday, Météo-France reported in its bulletin published shortly after midnight. The two departments of Corsica should experience a “episode of very strong winds (…) until noon”.
The twenty-nine departments affected by snow and ice extend from Normandy to Haut-Rhin, passing through the Ile-de-France. There may be a “High risk of landslide phenomenon due to refreezing in much of the northern half of the country”Météo-France warned.
In Haute-Saône, minimum temperatures could range between -8°C and -9°C in some places, with the risk of new frosts and “In the morning, dangerous road phenomena”the prefecture warned.
Dozens of traffic accidents
Although snowfall, unusual in western France, has decreased considerably, it has had important consequences. Dozens of traffic accidents were already recorded on Thursday. In La Mancha, an accident on public roads left a person seriously injured.
School transportation was interrupted in several western departments. This will remain the case on Friday in Mayenne and in the five departments of Normandy until noon. The collective transport of children will also be prohibited in Sarthe.
The Paris region, the center and the East will also be affected. Seine-et-Marne will suspend public and school transport. School lines and regular bus lines will be suspended until noon in the departments of Loir-et-Cher and Eure-et-Loir. In Loiret, traffic on school lines will be suspended until noon. There will be no school buses in Haut-Rhin.
Traffic restrictions affected heavy vehicles weighing 7.5 tons on Thursday, with a speed reduction of 20 km/h and a ban on overtaking in some places. Sections of departmental roads, and even highways, have been closed. This will remain the case on Friday in Sarthe and traffic will be prohibited on the A28 between Alençon and Le Mans in both directions.
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In Ile-de-France, RN 118 will be prohibited on Friday to vehicles weighing more than 7.5 tons, which will not be able to overtake on the main roads in the region. For all vehicles, the speed is reduced by 20 km/h on the same axles.
Fallen trees on the train tracks.
The disruptions also affected trains. Added to this is the social movement underway at the SNCF. This will continue to be the case on Friday, the SNCF said, although in some places trees fell on the tracks. “in Normandy, Pays de la Loire, New Aquitaine and Ile-de-France”.
Trains will not run through Normandy until noon “It is time to pass the reconnaissance trains and carry out authorizations and repairs”says the SNCF. In Pays de la Loire, “The region was greatly affected by falling trees”. “Traffic is gradually being restored in Nantes-Angers” but on the other hand, “The other lines of the Étoile de Nantes will not be able to resume until tomorrow during the day”.
In New Aquitaine, the recognitions “Continue tomorrow morning to ensure the possibility of resuming traffic”.
“In Ile-de-France, there are still interruptions on line P between Tournan and Coulommiers, on L2 between Garches Marnes the C and St Nom la Brétèche and on line T13 throughout the night”specifies the SNCF.
The meteorological phenomenon is “particularly impactful in western France, the Pays de la Loire, Normandy and Brittany regions.” commented Agnès Pannier-Runacher, Minister of Ecological Transition, Energy, Climate and Risk Prevention during a trip to Chamonix-Mont-Blanc (Haute Savoie).
The storm, which is moving towards the east of the country, has also caused significant delays at the Paris-Charles-de-Gaulle airport, where authorities have asked companies to cancel 10% of their flights.
