By DPA
Paris : Two people were killed when a storm with winds of up to 140 km per hour struck the French coast at Brittany and Normandy and then swept inland, France Info radio reported.
A woman was struck by a branch and killed Monday in the town of Saint-Denis de Ferment, in the northern region of Normandy, which took the brunt of the storm.
Earlier Monday, rescue workers found the body of a 26-year-old man who had fallen overboard and drowned late Sunday when his anchored sailboat was overturned by high waves off the Breton port of Relecq-Kerhuon.
The storm also caused an 88-metre-long Dutch freighter to run aground off Les Sables-d’Orlonne. None of the ship’s six crewmembers was hurt in the mishap.
The wind and heavy rains caused several rivers to overflow their banks, uprooted trees and forced fire fighters to rescue dozens of people trapped in their cars.