the essential
Placed on orange alert this Saturday, June 29 from 12 p.m., the Tarn suffered strong storms this afternoon, particularly in the west and south of the department. Roads were flooded and several festivals were canceled. In a situation update at 4 p.m., the firefighters indicated that they had carried out more than fifty interventions, mainly for flooding of premises.
Thunderstorms were expected this Saturday afternoon in the Tarn. The department was placed on orange alert and torrential rain fell from the beginning of the afternoon across the entire territory, sometimes accompanied by thunder and lightning.
In a situation update sent shortly after 4 p.m., the Tarn departmental fire and rescue service (SDIS 81) indicates having received more than 200 calls related to the storms. Firefighters were mobilized for 54 interventions, notably in the sectors of Lavaur, Graulhet, Saint-Paul-Cap-de-Joux, Castres, Puylaurens and Mazamet. Interventions mainly linked to flooding of premises, which did not cause significant damage.
Several sections of roads were quickly flooded, such as in Montans, Lisle-sur-Tarn or on the road between Gaillac and Graulhet. In Albi, lightning struck around 3:45 p.m. on a tree located in a garden on rue Emile Jolibois, which was temporarily closed to traffic. Power cuts in certain municipalities have also been reported by Internet users.
DDM – Marie-Pierre Volle
Mini-tornado in Brassac
At around 3 p.m., a stormy corridor crossed the village of Brassac. From the Payssibots stadium on the route de Castres via the park of the Château de la Marquise where many large branches were torn off, the mini-tornado evacuated towards Cugnasse and Biot.
Many trees were uprooted on the Anglès road and the Castelnau festival committee avoided the worst. The marquee set up for the evening was turned over like a pancake but fortunately no party-goers were underneath it at the time! 60 mm of rain fell in 1 hour as measured by a village pensioner! At 4 p.m., calm had returned, the firefighters and municipal employees were on deck to secure the damage caused by this sudden and unprecedented gust of wind.
DDM – Marc Durand
Festivals cancelled
Several festivals are taking place this weekend in the Tarn. The one in Briatexte, Festibria, was cancelled this evening due to bad weather, announced the town’s rugby club. This is also the case for the Ségala Music Tour in Saint-Benoît-de-Carmaux, which has finally been postponed to September 7. Uncertainty reigned in Lisle-sur-Tarn for the Festival of Performing Arts as in Albi for the Saint-Jean fire, planned on the Place Sainte-Cécile at the foot of the cathedral. But the situation returned to normal at the end of the afternoon.
The rainfall in the department was brief but intense. The Tarn Météo page on Facebook indicates that in just a few hours, 100 mm were measured in Lasfaillades, 83 mm in Montredon-Labessonnié, 65 mm in Dourgne, 50 mm in Sorèze, 45 mm in Lavaur and 40 mm in Gaillac.
