Floods in Rennes after storm Herminia, several departments on orange vigilance

WEATHER – Unheard of in the Breton capital for over 40 years. A few days after the passage of storm Éowyn, it is Herminia's turn to sweep across western France. This new depression has not spared the city of Rennes where significant flooding is underway this Sunday, January 26, leading to evacuations. Crossed by two rivers, the Ille and the Vilaine, the town is bearing the brunt of the floods caused by the heavy rains of recent days.

“Today we are at values ​​higher than those observed in 1981, which was a reference year for a significant flood”alerted the mayor, Nathalie Appéré, during a press briefing this Sunday morning. The rising waters of the Ille et Rance canal led the town hall to issue an evacuation order for four streets on Saturday evening. The homes “are behind a dike which normally protects them, and there, the water has passed over it”said the Breton elected official, announcing that a crisis unit had been opened at the town hall.

“I’ve lived in the neighborhood for 40 years, I’ve never seen that”Bruno Lorandel, 47, explained to AFP. In his professional premises, this audiovisual producer has “damage since yesterday”with some of the material lost. “Last week, it was limited at the canal and road level. I told myself that it was going to be the same thing, and in the end no information and that’s it”he lamented.

The Rennes area was not the only one affected. Calvados, Ille-et-Vilaine, Mayenne and Orne will remain on orange flood alert until Monday. Several rivers have emerged from their dregs in Mayenne, notably, as you can see below. “After a slight lull”of “new rains” this Sunday “will generate new reactions on many waterways”alerted Vigicrues, indicating that “on rivers already in flood, further increases are expected”. “The equivalent of 15 days of precipitation” could still fall in Rennes, indicated the mayor of the city.

In addition to the floods, the depression brings a strong gale to the West, where rail and road traffic is disrupted. The Vendée Globe village – installed since the start of the sailing competition last November – had to be closed to the public. The poor conditions could even force some skippers to take shelter in La Rochelle or Lorient, once they have crossed the finish line.

It's not over

Further south, a British boater who was sailing alone off the Gironde went missing in the Atlantic. The septuagenarian activated his emergency beacon on Saturday afternoon, leading to the intervention of emergency services. “The helicopter arrived in the area” found “the gutted sailboat” and the two divers sent to the site discovered a “empty raft”indicated the Maritime Prefecture of the Atlantic. The search was suspended overnight from Saturday to Sunday “lack of new elements”.

For the coming hours, Météo-France has kept the Pyrénées-Atlantiques, the Hautes-Pyrénées and the Rhône on orange wind alert until Monday. Already affected by orange vigilance this Sunday, Finistère and Morbihan will return to surveillance on Monday for waves-submersion.

And it's not over: the Herminia storm will continue to“influence the weather over the next few days”according to Météo-France forecasts.

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