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Corsica, southern mainland France battered by Storm Fabien

The Mediterranean island of Corsica and the south of mainland France have been swept by strong winds and rain causing severe flooding and power outages, closing down roads and an airport. 

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Heavy rain and winds from Storm Fabien brought the island of Corsica to a standstill on Sunday with flight cancellations days before the Christmas holiday, reports Euronews.

The airport in Ajaccio remained closed on Monday due to flooding on the runway. Images from Sunday showed severe flooding at the airport located on the French island's western coast.

Air Corsica cancelled 50 flights on Sunday and said in a press release that they were working to create an airbridge in northern Corsica (Haute-Corse). They said they were working to add 51 flights to France and Belgium from Bastia in Haute-Corse.

Mainland France also suffered heavy rain and winds on Sunday.

Just 18,000 homes were without electricity in France, primarily in New Aquitaine, said Enedis, the company that manages France's electricity network. Around 8:00 am CET on Sunday, there were 95,000 homes without electricity.

On Corsica, 3,500 homes were also cut off Sunday night, according to EDF.

Read more of this report from Euronews.