The heavy rain associated with the Kirk depression gradually weakens Thursday morning, crossing Ile-de-France towards the northeast with Seine-et-Marne still on alert in red floods while more than 67,000 homes have were deprived of electricity. The government called for “caution”.
A boater died off the coast of Sète and another is in absolute emergency after the strong swell shaking the coasts of Hérault capsized three boats, announced the prefecture of this department. More than 67,000 customers were deprived of electricity on Wednesday evening, mainly in the South-West, announced Enedis, the distribution network manager.
A risk of “strong to exceptional” flooding on the Grand Morin River, a sub-tributary of the Seine, justified the placement of Seine-et-Marne on red alert, according to Vigicrues. School transport is suspended Thursday in the department. In addition to Seine-et-Marne, confirmed on red alert for Thursday, Météo France also maintained six departments on orange flood alert, according to the bulletin published at 6 a.m.
The orange wind vigilance has, however, been lifted in all the departments concerned (Territoire-de-Belfort, Haute-Saône, Doubs) as well as the flood vigilance in the Alpes-Maritimes.
At the end of a crisis meeting in Paris, the Minister of Ecological Transition Agnès Pannier-Runacher highlighted the mobilization of “all State services” and called “everyone to exercise caution”. “These episodes will be repeated. We are in a moment where climate change is reflected concretely in our daily lives,” she underlined.
Transportation disrupted
According to the Minister for Transport François Durovray, the difficulties at the end of the day on Wednesday remained “limited”, with in particular “a few diverted planes”. On the rail, he mentioned the possibility of “downed trees” or “collapses of embankments” and the arrangements made “so that before the opening of the service” on Thursday, “all checks are made and that obviously the user safety is ensured.” The SNCF carried out localized traffic interruptions at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday in order to guarantee the safety of travelers and staff, particularly in New Aquitaine, Loire" rel="tag">Pays de la Loire and Rhône-Alpes.
The equivalent of a month of rain had been forecast for Wednesday alone on a route from Vendée to Champagne-Ardenne. In Noirmoutier-en-l’île, in Vendée, the hospital center was affected by a flood. Many roads were flooded in many sectors of the department. Firefighters carried out more than 130 interventions. The heavy rainfall also caused flooding of the A11 motorway towards Paris in the town of Chartres (Eure-et-Loir), leading to a cutting of this road, indicated Bison Futé.
In Pays de la Loire, “heavy rains led to flooding on the tracks” between Saint-Nazaire and Le Croisic, Nantes and Pornic as well as between Nantes and Saint-Gilles, interrupting rail traffic in places. In Loire-Atlantique, 22 roads were completely or partially cut, according to the departmental council.
211 km/h in the Pyrenees
As a precaution, the SNCF had scheduled a total interruption of traffic on several routes on Wednesday, notably between Dax (Landes) and Tarbes (Hautes-Pyrénées), Bayonne and Hendaye (Pyrénées-Atlantiques) or even Saintes and Royan (Charente-Maritime).
In New Aquitaine, a strong gale occurred, particularly on the western summits of the Pyrenees: according to Météo France, gusts of 211 km/h were recorded in the area of the ski resort of ‘Iraty (Pyrénées-Atlantiques). “Such gusts in Iraty are not usual,” noted Christophe Dedieu, president of the Météo Pyrénées association.
At the end of the wettest month of September in 25 years, the average annual precipitation totals have already been exceeded almost everywhere in mainland France. September was also marked on a global scale by “extreme precipitation”, exacerbated by the abnormally hot temperatures on the planet for more than a year, a consequence of climate change, according to the European Copernicus observatory.
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