Storm Nils leaves 850,000 households without power in southern France

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Storm Nils swept across southern France, leaving about 850,000 households without electricity and prompting the highest-level weather alerts in some departments, the authorities said on Thursday.

French power provider Enedis announced that 850,000 homes were without power on Thursday morning due to the storm.

A street flooded with water from the swollen Garonne river in La Reole, southwestern France, February 12, 2026. /VCG

Of the affected homes, 485,000 are in Nouvelle-Aquitaine and 318,000 in Occitanie, the two regions hardest hit by outages and severe weather.

The disruption comes as Meteo-France, the national weather service, placed four departments on red alert and 32 on orange alert for Thursday, warning of dangerous weather conditions.

For Friday, the agency expects a slight easing, with two departments remaining on red alert and 27 on orange alert.

Waves crash over rocks near the Anglet seawall in southwestern France, February 12, 2026. /VCG

French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said on social media on Thursday that one person has died and another has been seriously injured after a tree fell during the storm in southwestern France. He urged the public to remain vigilant, limit travel and strictly follow local safety instructions.

Source(s): Xinhua News Agency

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