Recording-breaking winds in France and across much of western Europe left at least five people dead and injured several others. Storm Ciarán charged through the continent overnight and into Thursday.
Five people were killed by falling trees as Storm Ciaran battered Western Europe on Thursday, bringing record winds as high as 200 kilometres per hour, floods, blackouts and major travel disruptions. They only hold their race along the Oosterscheldekering storm surge barrier in the western Netherlands if the wind is above a gale seven on the Beaufort Scale (up to 61 kilometres per hour), but they finally met their match with Storm Ciaran and had to cancel.