Cyclone Xynthia

"Xinthia" and "Xynthia" redirect here. For other uses, see Cynthia.
Cyclone Xynthia
Formed26 February 2010
Dissipated7 Μarch 2010
Highest winds
Lowest pressure967 mb (28.56 inHg)
Fatalities63;[2][3][4] 12 missing[4]
Damage€1.3–3 billion[nb 1][1]
Areas affectedBelgium, Denmark, France, England, Germany, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Sweden

Cyclone Xynthia was an exceptionally violent European windstorm which crossed Western Europe between 27 February and 1 March 2010. It reached a minimum pressure of 967 mb (28.6 inHg) on 27 February.[5] In France—where it was described by the civil defence as the most violent since Lothar and Martin in December 1999—at least 51 people were killed, with 12 more said to be missing. A further six people were killed in Germany, three in Spain, one in Portugal, one in Belgium and another one in England.[2] Most of the deaths in France occurred when a powerful storm surge topped by battering waves up to 7.5 m (25 ft) high, hitting at high tide, smashed through the sea wall off the coastal town of L'Aiguillon-sur-Mer.[6] A mobile home park built close to the sea wall was particularly hard-hit.[6] The sea wall was about two hundred years old, built in the time of Napoleon; critics said that situating a mobile home park so close to the sea wall showed poor coastal development practices.[6] The storm cut power to over a million homes in France and a million customers in Portugal lost power.


Cite error: There are <ref group=nb> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=nb}} template (see the help page).

  1. ^ International News, ClaimsJournal.com (3 March 2010). "AIR Estimates Windstorm Xynthia Insured Losses at $2 to $4.1 Billion". AIR Worldwide. Wells Publishing, Inc. Retrieved 18 March 2010.
  2. ^ a b English.news.cn, Xinhuanet (3 March 2010). "Violent winter storm kills 62 in western Europe". Xinhua News Agency. Archived from the original on April 26, 2010. Retrieved 18 March 2010.
  3. ^ Europe, CNN (28 February 2010). "Storm batters Europe, at least 55 dead". Paris, France: Cable News Network. Retrieved 28 February 2010. {{cite news}}: |first= has generic name (help)
  4. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference bbc was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ CAT Updates, RMS. "Storm Xynthia". Risk Management Solutions, Inc. RMS.com. Archived from the original on 6 March 2010. Retrieved 23 June 2010.
  6. ^ a b c Staff (1 March 2010) "Weak sea walls blamed for France storm disaster " BBC News