Red alert in Ardèche, Haute-Loire, Loire, Rhône, Lozère and Alpes-Maritimes this Thursday, October 17

WEATHER – Call for caution in the face of “large-scale Cévennes episode”. In its bulletin for this Thursday, October 17 at 2 p.m., Météo France placed four departments on red alert in the face of the risk of flooding. These are the Haute-Loire, the Loire, the Lozère and the Rhône where several rivers are in flood, notably the Gier river south of Lyon.

More than 100 millimeters of additional rain are expected this Thursday in eastern Haute-Loire, where a portion of the Lignon du Velay river could overflow, said the prefecture of this department, calling for people to stay at home.

Ardèche and the Alpes-Maritimes have been placed on red alert for rain-flooding. In the Ardèche department, several roads were closed due to flooding or landslides, according to the prefecture, while the town center of Annonay was flooded and evacuated, as were the schools and nurseries in the area. city. “As the situation is evolving more quickly than expected, it is imperative to stay at home”in souligné la mairie.

In addition, 19 departments in the southern part of France have been placed on orange alert for rain-flooding, thunderstorms or floods, as can be seen on the map below.

The southern half of France is particularly affected by this heavy rain which could reach locally this Thursday “40 mm, up to 60/80 mm from northern Occitanie to Burgundy or towards the Basque Country”indicates Météo-France on its site.

Schools closed in the Alpes-Maritimes

“The unstable rains are likely to increase compared to the day before on the plains of Languedoc and PACA, with locally around 50 to 80 mm. On the relief of the Cévennes, we expect another 80 to 100 mm more over the day on average, but locally more than 200 mm again”details the weather institute, as you can see in this map published Wednesday October 16 below:

The torrential rains began on Wednesday, causing “urban runoff” because of the dryness of the soil, particularly in the Alpes-Maritimes. This Cévennes episode must end this Thursday evening. Météo-France estimates that “200 to 300 mm can be accumulated in a widespread manner in 48 hours in the Cévennes, with peaks that can exceed 350 mm”.

Faced with these alerts, the Alpes-Maritimes prefecture announced the closure of educational establishments, from nurseries to high schools. In Nice, the parks will be closed and the homeless will be taken care of by the city. In Gard, school transport is canceled in the northern half of the territory. In Lozère, school transport is suspended in the south-east of the department.

The rains will continue on Friday across the country, although with a lull. The gloomy weather will also continue, while a new disturbance is expected to arrive in Brittany.

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