Europe 1 with AFP 16:21 p.m., March 31, 2023

The storm Mathis which has been raging since last night on the Hexagon has made a victim in the Vosges. A 19-year-old man lost his life on Friday after a tree fell on a rest area. Winds of up to 120km/h were recorded on the Channel coast.

A 19-year-old man died after a tree fell on a rest area Friday in Senones (Vosges), a consequence of "strong winds" caused by storm Mathis which led to the classification in yellow or orange vigilance of 80 French departments. The victim was walking on a rest area near his vehicle when he was hit by the fall of a tree, explained to AFP the firefighters of Senones, confirming information from the daily Vosges Matin.

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Dispatched to the scene, the firefighters and the services of the Samu Lorraine tried to resuscitate him, in vain. A helicopter was also mobilized, but the body was eventually taken care of by funeral services. Storm Mathis also caused damage in other departments, including Indre, where the town hall of Buzançais reported a "tornado". Firefighters intervened 55 times in the town for falling trees, chimneys and roofs torn off. A school was also hit, but no one was injured.

78 departments classified in yellow vigilance "thunderstorms"

In the Vienne, another tornado caused damage without causing injuries in the village of Saint-Jean-de-Sauve, according to the prefecture. Some houses lost their roofs, a nursing home and the courtyard of a school were also affected. Météo France classified 78 departments in yellow vigilance "thunderstorms" and / or "strong winds". "The wind from west to southwest blows very strongly inland, gusts often reach 70 to 80 km / h, locally 90 to 100 km / h under stormy squalls," says the organization in its daily bulletin.

The Pas-de-Calais remains classified in orange vigilance, with gusts that can go "up to 110 km / h, or even 120 km / h on the coast". A vigilance lifted on the department of Manche by Météo France this Friday afternoon. Some departments of the Alps massif are also classified in yellow vigilance "avalanches", while the departments of Gironde, Landes and Pyrénées-Atlantiques are classified in "waves-submersion".