France To Declare Natural Disaster In Corsica On Wednesday Due To Hurricane - Ministry

French authorities will declare a natural disaster in Corsica starting from August 24 due to a violent storm engulfing the island, French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said on Friday

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 19th August, 2022) French authorities will declare a natural disaster in Corsica starting from August 24 due to a violent storm engulfing the island, French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said on Friday.

"We have scheduled meetings for Wednesday, that is, in record time, which will allow us to declare a natural disaster," Darmanin told French broadcaster BFMTV during his trip to Corsica, adding that the disaster regime will allow the affected enterprises to quickly receive compensation for damage caused by the hurricane.

The wind speed in Corsica reached 220 km/h (137 mi/h), while the projected speed was 100 km/h, the minister added.

On Thursday, French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said on Twitter that she formed an inter-ministerial emergency group to monitor the situation in Corsica after six people died and at least 20 people were injured in Corsica as violent storm battered the Mediterranean island.

On Thursday morning, the French national meteorological service announced an orange level of weather risk (an enhanced third level, according to the five-level risk system) in Corsica. Wind gusts reached 224 km/h on the west coast of the island.

The series of storms across the region follows an intense heatwave that has engulfed Europe in recent weeks and caused the most severe wildfires in decades.