Interior minister raises death toll to 47 from storm that battered France’s western coast

France raises death toll to 47 in fierce storm

PARIS — France’s interior minister says the death toll from a violent storm with hurricane-force winds that lashed western France has risen to 47. At least six deaths have been reported in other countries.

Most deaths are concentrated in the Vendee region on the Atlantic coast.

Brice Hortefeux said Monday on France-Info radio that the number of dead would “doubtless” increase as more than 9,000 rescue workers make house-to-house visits.

The storm, named Xynthia, blew into France early Sunday, flooding ports, destroying homes and leaving some 1 million households without electricity.

President Nicolas Sarkozy is to visit the region Monday after the government classified the destruction as a national catastrophe.