Severe storms leave 13,000 households without power across France

Around 13,000 households across France remained without electricity on Thursday after violent storms swept across several regions overnight, according to electricity distribution operator Enedis, cited by Franceinfo.

The storms caused widespread damage across the country, particularly in the Ardeche department, where hailstones measuring several centimeters in diameter damaged homes, vehicles, and public buildings.

In the village of Prades, where around 1,000 people live, local authorities said about 95% of homes were damaged by the hailstorm.

Ardeche recorded more than 2,200 lightning strikes within two hours on Wednesday evening, making it the department most affected by lightning in France during the storm.

The strikes also sparked a vegetation fire that burned around four hectares.

Storms also caused flooding and transport disruptions in several regions.

In Sarthe, up to 17,000 households lost electricity on Wednesday evening before power was restored to many customers. Around 6,000 customers remained without power on Thursday.

In Dordogne, around 500 households were still without electricity, while rail traffic remained disrupted on several lines because of storm-related damage and unstable ground conditions.

The storms also damaged vineyards in the Vaucluse department.

As many as 15 departments remained under an orange thunderstorm warning on Thursday, while 31 departments were still under an orange heat wave alert.

France has faced repeated episodes of extreme heat in recent weeks, with dry conditions contributing to major wildfires, while violent storms have also caused widespread disruption to power and transport networks.