The department is placed on orange alert for rain, flooding and storms from 9 p.m. this Wednesday, September 4. Emergency services, law enforcement, Enedis and the authorities are on alert.
The first marked deterioration of this end of summer will hit the Côte d’Azur in the next few hours. Météo-France has placed the Alpes-Maritimes on orange alert for rain, flooding and storms from 9 p.m. this Wednesday, September 4.
Heavy rain is expected due to an air mass conflict. The mild, very humid air coming up from the Mediterranean conflicts with much cooler air coming in from the Pyrenees.
Météo France is predicting significant rainfall in the short term, “on average around 50mm,” explains Benoît Huber, chief of staff of the Alpes-Maritimes prefect, on BFM Nice Côte d’Azur, who specifies that locally “it could reach up to 120mm.”
These storms will intensify during the evening and especially during the night, starting on the coast. There will be heavy rainfall at the very end of the night, sometimes with the equivalent of a month’s rainfall in some places, with hail also in the hinterland.
Strong gusts of wind are expected in the evening, up to 100km/h.
Emergency services on alert, Enedis and road services too
Consequently, in Nice, Christian Estrosi will activate the vigilance cell of the municipal command post and the metropolitan coordination post at the urban supervision center from 10 p.m.
The Alpes-Maritimes prefecture made an update at the end of the afternoon with the emergency services, the gendarmes, the police and the city of Nice. The chief of staff of the Alpes-Maritimes prefect indicates that the mayors of the coastal towns will take orders to prohibit walking on the paths near the seaside this evening.
In addition, the emergency services are on alert. “More than 200 additional firefighters” are on call in the barracks this Wednesday evening due to the upcoming storms “in particular to be able to help people who are swept away by the water or who find themselves in a complicated situation”.
The firefighters have already carried out preventive evacuations in areas located near waterways. In addition to the emergency services, Enedis services and road operators are standing by, he said.
Town halls will remain open all night
Some municipalities have already taken the lead. The city of Cannes has announced the opening of a command post and the preventive installation of cofferdams on sensitive municipal and inter-municipal facilities.
In the Nice hinterland, the town hall of Saint-Martin-Vésubie will remain open tonight for people who want to seek safety.
In Nice, public parks and gardens will be closed and the Leyrit hall will be made available to the homeless.
