In France, two men died on Friday in the Vosges and Alsace after falling trees, the consequences of the “violent winds” caused by the Mathis storm for which 23 departments were still classified in yellow vigilance overnight.
In the middle of the day, a 19-year-old man was walking in a rest area near his vehicle when he was hit by a falling tree in Senones (Vosges), firefighters told AFP. the town, confirming information from the daily Vosges Matin.
Dispatched to the scene, the firefighters and the Samu Lorraine services tried to resuscitate him, in vain. A helicopter was also called in, but the body was eventually taken over by funeral services.
In the evening, another young man, in his twenties, was fatally hit by a tree while driving on a road south of Mulhouse (Haut-Rhin), we learned from from the central police station of the city, confirming information from the newspaper L’Alsace. His passenger was hospitalized “in serious condition”.
During the day, several motorists had reported trunks across the road on this secondary road linking Bruebach to Mulhouse.
Storm Mathis also caused damage in other departments, particularly in Indre and Vienne, where tornadoes caused damage without causing injuries.
In Hauts-de-France, storm Mathis disrupted train traffic between Lille and Douai, as well as on several axes departing from and arriving at Valenciennes, due to catenary problems, in particular linked to falls of trees. In the Pas-de-Calais, gusts of wind up to 130km / h were noted Friday, in Radinghem.