Some 140,000 homes were without power in France on Thursday morning, as Storm Benjamin continued to sweep across much of the country, according to a report released by Enedis at 11:30 a.m. local time.

The electricity grid operator specified that the power outages mainly affected Nouvelle-Aquitaine, with approximately 40,000 homes affected, and the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, where 35,000 customers were also without electricity. Other outages were recorded in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté and Occitanie, affecting 15,000 homes each.

In Charente-Maritime, 12,000 power outages were reported by late morning. Prefect Brice Blondel indicated on BFMTV that the situation was evolving “hour by hour,” adding that response teams remained mobilized. In Gironde, of the 9,000 homes without electricity in the early morning, approximately 7,500 remained without power at 12:30 p.m., according to the department’s prefecture.

Trees falling on power lines and roads have been reported in several departments, mobilizing firefighters and technical personnel to secure the affected areas and restore power.

While winds are beginning to weaken in some areas such as Lacanau, where gusts of up to 130 km/h have been recorded, other departments remain under high surveillance. As of 2 p.m., 11 departments are still on orange alert, particularly for strong winds, intense rain, and the risk of submersion.