Storm Patricia: a dead man and a child between life and death, what are the latest forecasts?

Storm Patricia, sweeping part of Brittany on Wednesday August 2, caused the death of a woman while a child finds himself between life and death.

[Mis à jour le 2 août 2023 à 08h10] Summer storm Patricia hit Brittany and Normandy on Wednesday August 2 and caused the death of a bather in Ouessant (Finistère), according to the Telegram. According to the latest information from AFP, witnesses saw several bathers in difficulty, including the 57-year-old woman. Despite the rapid intervention of the emergency services, the bather could not be saved, leaving her two children in shock. Another drama, a 10-year-old child was crushed by a tree in Montpellier-de-Médillan, near Saintes in Charente-Maritime. It was when he was playing quietly in his garden that the accident happened. Stuck under the tree, the child was freed. A time in cardiorespiratory arrest, he was then resuscitated, according to Emmanuel Cayron, sub-prefect of Charente-Maritime interviewed by BFM TV, before being helicoptered “to the Poitiers University Hospital in absolute urgency”.

This storm is unusual for the summer season. It is due to a low pressure system that formed over the North Atlantic. The depression caused heavy rainfall and strong winds over the northern half of France. Gusts of wind broke records in some places.

End of orange alert

If several departments remain on yellow alert, in particular for waves of submersion over the entire tip of Brittany with Ile et Vilaine, Côtes d’Armor and Finistère, the worst part of storm Patricia seems to have passed and Météo France has lifted its orange vigilance on the departments, however asking the population to remain cautious and attentive.

Bathing prohibited in several municipalities

The maritime prefecture of the Channel and the North Sea has published an alert message calling “all users of the sea” to “the greatest caution”, and “in particular those who practice fishing on foot or who walk on the coast subject to the tide. A few minutes can sometimes be enough to be isolated by the rising tide. High tides have the effect of increasing the tidal range (difference between the height of high tide and that of low tide), with greater mixing of seawater and faster upwelling. They therefore make sea currents stronger and the sea more dangerous, leading to an increased risk of isolation by the tide”.

This summer storm also arrives in the midst of a high tide phenomenon, which should increase the risk of submersion with large waves and tidal coefficients exceeding 100. The greatest vigilance will therefore be required on the Brittany coast. and on the English Channel but also on the Atlantic coast for the weekend. Several municipalities have already announced the ban on swimming in their territories. This will be the case in Agon-Coutainville, Montmartin-sur-Mer and Hauteville-sur-Mer in the Manche department, but also in Blonville-sur-Mer and Villers-sur-Mer in Calvados. This ban is valid until further notice.