While the red alert for floods has been lifted this Friday, October 18, France is seeing the significant damage caused by the bad weather the day before.
THE ESSENTIAL
- Red vigilance has been liftedthis Friday, by Météo-France. However, 18 departments in the southern half of the country remain on orange alert for the risk of flooding.
- On Thursday, violent bad weather caused the closure of schools, nurseries, retirement homes as well as the evacuation of hundreds of homes near rivers experiencing flooding.
- The fall of a tree in the north of Paris (19th arrondissement), affected by heavy rains on Thursday, caused one dead and two injured.
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2:10 p.m. | Five departments now on orange alert
Five departments are still on orange alert for flooding, Météo-France indicates in its 2 p.m. bulletin. These are the Loire, the Gard, the Bouches-du-Rhône, the Landes and the Pyrénées-Atlantiques.
1:45 p.m. | The Minister of Transport traveling to the Rhône this afternoon
François Durovray will travel to the Rhône this Friday afternoon, his ministry indicates. The Minister of Transport will “show the government’s support for the victims, thank the road, SNCF, territorial agents, state services and all security and rescue forces”.
The Rhône was chosen by the government because it was very affected by bad weather this Thursday, in particular the A47 which was heavily flooded.
1:25 p.m. | 4,000 homes without electricity this Friday
According to a report from Enedis, nearly 4,000 French homes were still without electricity this Friday.
80 households in Corrèze are affected by the outage, particularly in Treignac, Veix, Malemort and Argentat. Several roads were flooded in Corrèze: the RD 28E and the RD 28 in Saillac, the RD147 in Cublac, the RD178 in Suddenlye-Lavinadière, the RD15 in Chapelle-aux-Saints. They are now open to traffic. Our article
1 p.m. | 3,000 firefighters remain mobilized
Nearly 3,000 firefighters are still mobilized this Friday, as are law enforcement officers. The gendarmerie uses helicopters to carry out an inventory of the damage in the disaster areas.
12:30 p.m. | Two ministers expected in Ardèche
Agnès Pannier-Runacher, Minister of Ecological Transition, and Nicolas Daragon, Minister of Daily Security under Minister of the Interior Bruno Retailleau, are expected in Annonay, in Ardèche. The day before, the town was very affected by bad weather. Schools and nurseries had to close in particular.
12 hours | Floods also in Italy
Like France, northern Italy is affected by severe weather which has caused flooding.
11:28 a.m. | “We have the impression that a tsunami has ravaged the cemetery”: around thirty people are working to clean this cemetery in Corrèze
This Friday, around thirty people are cleaning the cemetery of Lanteuil, a town in Corrèze badly affected by flooding the day before. The cemetery swept away by a devastating wave coming from the flooded Vianne this Thursday.
At the Lanteuil cemetery, a town in Corrèze very affected by Thursday’s bad weather.
“The water arrived upstream of the cemetery and pushed the concrete block surrounding wall. When it gave way under the pressure, there was a wave which took everything away. We found one of the plaques at the “other end of the cemetery”, confides an elected official cleaning up.
Impressive images of the damage after the floods in Lanteuil in Corrèze
“I have my grandmother and my mother here. It hurts my heart,” confides Francine, a resident. “My grandmother is by the river, I can’t even get there anymore.” “It feels like a tsunami has ravaged the cemetery,” she adds.
11:15 a.m. | Vigilance in detail
Ten French departments are currently on orange alert:
- for rain-flood risks : Ariège, Haute-Garonne, Gers, Tarn and Tarn-et-Garonne
- for flood risks: Bouches-du-Rhône, Gard, Landes, Loire and Pyrénées-Atlantiques
10:30 a.m. | The A47 still flooded, according to Michel Barnier
“The A47 remains flooded, it is a priority as well as the railway between Lyon and Saint-Etienne,” announced the Prime Minister.
“The FR Alerte system is the new SMS service which has been activated to warn the population as quickly as possible to avoid the worst,” he said.
10:22 a.m. | Michel Barnier: “We have not experienced an episode of such violence in the Cévennes for 40 years”
The Prime Minister spoke from the crisis management unit of the Minister of the Interior about the episode of storms and “massive rain”.
We have not experienced in living memory and service here an episode of such violence in the Cévennes for 40 years.
Michel Barnier (Prime Minister)
“At this moment, I am thinking on behalf of the entire government of all the people who have been affected in their daily lives,” said the head of government.
“There were 2,300 interventions, sometimes carried out by helicopter, saving lives,” added Michel Barnier.
10:17 a.m. | In Haute-Loire, the most significant floods recorded since 2008
The Cévennes episode and the precipitation which affected the Haute-Loire and the Ardèche, and particularly the Mézenc massif as well as the Vivarais Lignon, caused very strong floods on Thursday. The Loire reached its highest level in Goudet since September 1980. In Chadrac, the flood was similar to that of 2008. The Lignon experienced its strongest flooding in 44 years with very heavy damage between Fay-sur-Lignon and Tence. Our article
Floods in Brives-Charensac, in Haute-Loire. Photo Christophe Coffy
10:10 a.m. | More than 10 departments on orange vigilance
Météo-France revised its vigilance downwards in its 10 a.m. bulletin. There are only 10 departments left on orange alert for floods and/or floods.
9:47 a.m. | No victims in Haute-Loire: “We can congratulate ourselves”, declares the prefect
Questioned by our colleagues from BFMTV, Yvan Cordier, prefect of Haute-Loire, was delighted with the human toll of these severe bad weather. “The situation is evolving favorably. Since last night, the decline has begun, he explains. Even if it has been slowed down by rain. We can be pleased with the human toll, which for the moment is zero victim in Haute-Loire.”
9:40 a.m. | What we know about the consequences of heavy rains in Creuse
The downpours which fell on the Creuse this Thursday caused numerous basement floods. Rivers are also impacted: the Petite Creuse, for example, has reached an exceptional level. Our article
Photo Stéphanie Para
9:38 a.m. | An alert for rising water levels on the Cher river, Cher Berrichon section
The prefect of Allier issues an alert for rising water levels on the Cher river, Cher Berrichon section. During the night, firefighters responded to up to fifty interventions due to heavy downpours. Our article
9:33 a.m. | If I do not have the “means of my action”, “I will draw conclusions”, warns Agnès Pannier-Runacher
The Minister of Ecological Transition and Energy Agnès Pannier-Runacher warned on Friday that if her ministry did not have “the means for (its) action” in the 2025 budget, she would “draw conclusions” .
“We need a budget that is up to the situation and that is not the case today,” she declared, interviewed on BFMTV/RMC. “Above all, I want to work on having the means for my action (…) if I don’t have them, I will draw conclusions.”
9:27 a.m. | Prime Minister visits Operations Center
Michel Barnier is going this Friday morning to the Operational Center for Interministerial Crisis Management with his Minister of the Interior, Bruno Retailleau. A speech is expected around 10:15 a.m.
9:20 a.m. | Nearly 1,000 emergency interventions, 900 people brought to safety
Emergency services carried out more than 1,000 interventions, according to a press release published Thursday evening by the Minister of the Interior, including “25 rescues of people”.
“Nearly 900 people were also brought to safety,” it said.
1,500 firefighters and five security helicopters were also deployed to help the victims.
A helicopter in Brives-Charensac, in Haute-Loire.
9:10 a.m. | Where did the greatest amount of rain fall in France?
A good part of France was copiously rained this Thursday, particularly in the southern half. The Cévennes, Ardèche as well as the Pyrénées-Atlantiques and the Alpes-Maritimes were the areas where the rain fell the most. In the town of Vialas, in Lozère, a total of 711 mm was recorded, a national record.
9 a.m. | Agnès Pannier-Runacher: to predict floods, you need a budget that is up to the task”
Were these floods anticipated correctly? “This is one of the challenges of the feedback that we see in this episode. We have the right alerts, but we have difficulty predicting the speed of the rise in water levels,” says Agnès Pannier-Runacher at the microphone of BFMTV-RMC.
Agnès Pannier-Runacher. Photo Justine Bavois
“Our river modeling systems are outdated, we do not have the historical and scientific perspective to correctly model them,” adds the Minister of Ecological Transition.
8:55 a.m. | A night “less worse than we expected”
“Last night was less worse than we expected,” rejoiced Agnès Panier-Runacher on BFMTV-RMC this Friday morning.
A little earlier, the Minister of Ecological Transition, Energy, Climate and Risk Prevention sent her “thoughts” to the victims.
We are facing periods that are linked to climate change. We must get used to it and arm ourselves to face it.
Agnès Panier-Runacher (on BFMTV-RMC)
8:50 a.m. | No RER E all day
8:45 a.m. | State of natural disaster triggered within “ten days”
In the departments affected by Thursday’s bad weather, the state of natural disaster will be triggered “as quickly as possible”, i.e. within “ten days”, assured this Friday morning Nicolas Daragon, Minister Delegate for Daily Safety, on franceinfo.
8:40 a.m. | Flooded highways, washed away cows… Spectacular images of bad weather
Hundreds of evacuations, completely flooded roads, animals swept away by the current… This Thursday, “exceptional” rains caused great damage in France. Some spectacular scenes were immortalized. Our article
8:35 a.m. | Departments on alert this Friday
In total, 18 departments in the southern half of the country are affected by orange vigilance this Friday.
- Rain-Flood : Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Hautes-Pyrénées, Dordogne, Tarn, Ariège, Haute-Garonne, Lot-et-Garonne, Tarn-et-Garonne, Gers, Lot.
- Floods : Alpes-Maritimes, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, Bouches-du-Rhône, Gard, Loire, Haute-Loire, Puy-de-Dôme, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Landes.
8:30 a.m. | “The Cévennes episode is over”: red vigilance lifted
The red alert for floods was lifted this Friday morning in the last four departments concerned, namely Rhône, Haute-Loire and Lozère. However, 18 departments in the southern half of the country remain affected by orange vigilance for the risk of flooding and floods, specifies Météo-France.
“The Cévennes episode is over. A few showers are still possible, but not comparable to the rainy episode of the last two days,” describes the organization in its 6 a.m. bulletin.
Floods in Haute-Loire: these spectacular images of the Loire in fury
8:15 a.m. | Good morning !
Welcome to this live commentary to follow the damage caused by the severe weather which affected France this Thursday.
