several roads blocked in the English Channel after storm Ciaran batters Western Europe

Seven people were killed as Storm Ciaran battered Western Europe on Thursday, bringing record winds as high as 200 kilometres per hour, floods, blackouts and major travel disruption.
Some 1.2 million French homes lost electricity overnight as the storm lashed the northwest coast. Almost 700,000 remained without power on Thursday evening, according to network manager Enedis. More than one million residents were also cut off from the mobile telephone network, according to government minister Jean-Noel Barrot.