China News Service, Paris, August 18th. Corsica, France, was hit by a strong storm on the 18th local time, causing 2 deaths and 12 injuries.
The French Meteorological Service placed Corsica on a storm orange alert that day.
The entire island of Corsica was heavily affected by strong storms that day.
According to initial local official reports, the death toll has risen to two, a 13-year-old girl and a 72-year-old man; 12 others were injured, one of them seriously.
Up to now, the maximum wind speed of the severe storm measured by the local weather monitoring department in Corsica has reached 224 kilometers per hour.
France's BFM television said that this value has reached the level of a hurricane.
Nearly 60 rescue operations have been carried out off the coast of western Corsica, most of them to rescue ships that have been stranded or turned back by the storm, the Mediterranean Maritime Authority said.
In addition, Corsica suffered widespread power outages due to severe weather, with 45,000 homes without power.
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