Hurricane Nils Hantam Southern France, Hundreds of Thousands of Homes Without Electricity

JAKARTA - A truck driver died and nearly 850,000 homes lost power as Hurricane Nils hit southern and southwestern France with strong winds, flooding, and snowslides on Thursday.

The man died in the Landes region near the town of Mees after a tree branch fell on his truck, according to a BFMTV report.

French national weather agency Meteo-France placed four regions, Savoie, Aude, Gironde, and Lot-et-Garonne, in a red alert status for risks ranging from snow avalanches and strong winds to severe flooding.

Electricity network operator Enedis said around 850,000 homes were without power in the morning, including 485,000 in Nouvelle-Aquitaine and 318,000 in Occitanie, the region worst hit by the storm.

Last night, wind gusts reached 162 km/h in Biscarrosse in the Landes region.

Wind gusts of 157 km/h were recorded in Lege-Cap-Ferret (Gironde), 132 km/h in Millau (Aveyron) and 125 km/h in Toulouse, levels described by weather forecasters as unprecedented for February in some areas.

In Aude, where a red alert is still in place for strong winds, around 17 thousand homes were without electricity in around 40 towns. More than 600 Enedis workers were deployed, along with 769 firefighters and dozens of police and military police.

Flood warnings were extended in Gironde and Lot-et-Garonne, with officials warning river levels along the Garonne could rise further in the coming hours.

In Langon, water levels have more than doubled in 48 hours, rising from 3.8 meters to more than 7 meters. In Cadillac, water levels exceeded 6 meters and are expected to approach or exceed previous flood records that occurred in 2018 and 2006.

Around 30 residents were evacuated overnight in La Reole in Gironde as a precaution.

According to the Vigicrues flood monitoring service, 29 sections of the river are under orange alert, with "major flooding expected in the next 24 hours."

The agency warned that heavy rainfall in recent weeks had created conditions conducive to flash flooding.

Snowfall avalanche risk at highest level in 17 years

In the Alps, authorities raised the avalanche risk to level 5, the highest alert, in parts of Savoie, describing the situation as exceptional and unprecedented in 17 years.

Several ski resorts, including La Grave, were closed, while others, such as Alpe d'Huez and Les Deux Alpes, partially suspended operations. Resort officials urged skiers to stay on marked trails as avalanche control operations continued.

A total of 32 additional regions, from Brittany to Corsica, were placed under orange warnings for strong winds, heavy rain, flooding or inundation of coastal areas, as Hurricane Nils continued to cross the country.