Storm "Ciara," accompanied by strong winds and heavy rains, continued its path to northwest France and England on the night between Wednesday and Thursday, while authorities raised the alert level in the English Channel area to red.

The storm caused one death and deprived more than one million homes of electricity, including 780,000 in the Brittany region. The French railway company stopped regional trains in the most affected areas and also canceled several high-speed "TGV" train services. Meanwhile, neighboring European countries also raised their alert levels.

European countries declared a maximum alert on Wednesday as Storm "Ciara," accompanied by strong winds and heavy rains, arrived. On Thursday, the storm made its way to the northwest coast of France, causing power outages for about 1.2 million homes.