“Desolation”, “unheard of”, “devastating floods”, … It is in these terms that the regional newspapers describe this Friday, October 18, 2024, the floods and floods of the day before, in the center-east and south-east of France. Torrential rains fell on these regions on Thursday, Météo-France having placed, at the height of the episode, 6 departments on red vigilance and 34 on Orange vigilance.
No deaths or serious injuries have been reported in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, according to the prefecture, which records three minor injuries and more than 900 people evacuated, two-thirds of them in the Ardèche department. “There were 25 people who were airlifted, which means they were really in immediate danger. We had more than 2,300 interventions”detailed this morning on franceinfo Nicolas Daragon, Minister Delegate for Daily Safety who is due to travel to Ardèche during the day, with the Minister of Ecology Agnès Pannier-Runacher.
“Nearly 3,000 firefighters, six civil security helicopters and seven reinforcement columns” are still mobilized, he added.
Homes still without electricity and roads closed
This morning, “another hundred victims have not found their homes”indicated on BFTMV the Minister of Ecological Transition Agnès Pannier-Runacher. In the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, some “4,000 homes” are still affected, Enedis announced to franceinfo. In detail, 1,900 households are affected in the Loire, 600 in the Rhône, 500 in Ardèche and 500 in Haute-Loire.
Several departmental roads are closed due to flooding or landslides this Friday morning. The A47 motorway is reopened in both directions on part of its route (between exits 11 and 15), for light vehicles, but not for heavy goods vehicles, announces the Loire prefecture. “The A47 remains closed between Ternay and exit 11 as long as the lanes remain flooded”she said this morning.
Rail traffic remains disrupted: the Saint-Etienne-Lyon and Saint-Étienne-Le Puy lines are still closed.
“Never seen” rain accumulations
Flooded streets, submerged cars, animals swept away by the waters… The images and videos which circulated on social networks on Thursday testify to the exceptional nature of these bad weather. “We have never experienced a disaster of this magnitude”commented Olivier Amrane, the president of the Ardèche departmental council, Thursday evening on franceinfo . The prefect of Ardèche Sophie Elizéon indicated that it had rained “nearly 50% of what falls per year” on the Cévennes and the Annonay basin.
Over 48 rolling hours, from Tuesday to Thursday, at 3 p.m., 526.3 mm of cumulative precipitation was recorded in Villefort (Lozère). For comparison, the average cumulative rainfall recorded over the entire month of October in the town is… 283.2 mm. Several records fell throughout the day. Records that weather models have “a little underestimated” according to Yann Amice, meteorologist at Weather’n’Co. “Certainly because they are not used to making forecasts based on a fairly explosive combination, with the dynamism of the Cévennes and a warm and humid tropical air mass. »
Read also: IN PICTURES. Schools closed, residents evacuated, floods… Bad weather damage in France
The highest accumulation of precipitation recorded over 48 rolling hours, from Wednesday midnight to Friday midnight is in Vialas, in Lozère, with 711 mm, according to data from Meteociel.fr . “We are facing a situation that is unprecedented in its scale. 600 millimeters of water on the Ardèche is unheard of in living memorynoted Agnès Pannier-Runacher on Thursday, during a press briefing. 600 millimeters is more than 60 centimeters of water that fell in 48 hours. It’s absolutely massive. »
Guest on the set of BFMTV this Friday morning, the minister attributed these exceptional bad weather to “climate disruption”. On the social network “each fraction of warming contributes to this intensification” precipitation.
“We have to get used to it […]we must arm ourselves to face it”urged Agnès Pannier-Runacher, on BFMTV.
End of red vigilance
No more departments are on red flood or rain-flood alert on Friday morning, but ten in the southern half remain affected by orange alert, Météo-France indicated, after the “exceptional” rains which fell on Thursday. “The Cévennes episode is over. A few showers are still possible, but not comparable to the rainy episode of the last two days”specified the organization in its 6 a.m. bulletin.
Orange vigilance for floods is in force Friday morning, at 10 a.m., in ten departments (Loire, Bouches-du-Rhône, Gard, Tarn, Tarn-et-Garonne, Ariège, Haute-Garonne, Gers, Landes and Pyrénées-Atlantiques ). On Saturday, five departments are currently placed on orange alert: Bouches-du-Rhône, Loire, Gard, Landes and Pyrénées-Atlantiques
Related News :