► Death of a boater off the coast of Sète
A boater died on Wednesday October 9 off the coast of Sète and another is in absolute emergency due to the strong swell which shakes the Hérault and which capsized three boats, announced the prefecture of Hérault.
Even if the Kirk depression crosses France and 32 departments are placed on orange alert, this is not the case for Hérault, classified green by Météo France.
However, the prefect specifies that the waves can reach two meters, causing a risk “very high” drowning and he asks “boaters not to take to the sea and the population not to swim or frequent the beaches of the department”.
► More than 64,000 people deprived of electricity
More than 64,000 customers were without electricity on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. due to the Kirk depression which crosses France, mainly in the South, announced Enedis, the distribution network manager.
According to Enedis, 35,000 homes are without electricity in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques, 8,000 in the Landes, 7,500 in Ariège, 4,500 in the Gers, 4,400 in the Rhône, 2,100 in the Loire and as many in the Ain and 500 in the Hautes-Pyrénées.
► Floods: Seine-et-Marne on red alert, suspension of school buses
Seine-et-Marne was placed on red alert for floods on Wednesday October 9 and Thursday October 10, while a “very significant rainy episode” crosses France, indicates Météo France in its bulletin published in the afternoon.
“The expected amounts of rain could cause a strong to exceptional flood on (the) Grand Morin river. Rapid rises and localized overflows could be observed as early as Wednesday evening”specifies the specialized government site Vigicrues.
School transport will be suspended on Thursday in the Ile-de-France department. “Special school circuits, transport circuits for students with disabilities and regular line services primarily providing access to educational establishments are prohibited for the day of October 10 throughout the department”indicates a decree published on the website of the Seine-et-Marne prefecture.
The prefect of the department also, in another press release, “recommended to populations to postpone (their) travel”. Businesses and administrations are also “invited to facilitate the implementation of teleworking for their employees, but also to limit or postpone travel and deliveries”adds the prefect.
► Vigilance maintained Thursday
While 32 departments are still on orange vigilance and one on red vigilance this Wednesday early evening, Météo France does not plan to “increase in the level of rain and flood vigilance” THURSDAY.
21 departments should however be kept on orange alert, including 15 for “rain flood”five for wind and three for floods. Seine-et-Marne should remain on red alert.
► State services “mobilized” to “reduce risks”
The government mobilized “all state services” in order to “reduce risks” linked to Kirk depression, announced the Minister of Ecological Transition and Energy, Agnès Pannier-Runacher, calling “everyone should be careful and respect (the) safety instructions”.
“All State measures and services are already mobilized preventively and reactively to reduce risks”she declared during a press briefing at the ministry.
“These episodes will be repeated. We are in a moment where climate change is reflected concretely in our daily lives”she added, but “we have the means to deal with it”, “we are ready”.
According to the Minister for Transport François Durovray, the difficulties remained at the end of the day on Wednesday “limited”citing in particular “a few planes diverted”. On the rail, he mentioned the possibility “of lying trees” or “slope collapses” and arrangements made “so that before the opening of the service” THURSDAY, “all checks are carried out and obviously the safety of users is ensured”.
► 93 mm of rain in Noirmoutier, 67 mm in Nantes
Precipitation was marked from Vendée to Loire-Atlantique. “Since yesterday evening, the accumulations of rain have already been considerable from Vendée to Loire-Atlantique with 93 mm in Noirmoutier, 67 mm in Nantes, 44 mm in Angers”Météo France alert on X.
The organization nevertheless specifies that the rains are starting to “weaken” in this area, the largest “ having passed between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. ».
In Noirmoutier in Vendée, 50 centimeters of water were found in the streets and a daycare center was evacuated as a precaution, the town hall said.
In Loire-Atlantique, “several departmental roads are flooded and subject to total or partial cuts”writes the prefecture in a press release. A partial closure of the Nantes ring road is also envisaged, according to Bison Futé.
► A third of France on orange alert
The Kirk Depression began to sweep across France with “intense rain” expected from Vendée to the Ardennes as well as a “very strong gust of wind” in eastern France, Météo France alert. 35 departments, particularly in the Paris basin as well as in the east and southwest of the country, are now placed on orange alert.
25 are placed on orange vigilance for “rain flood”ten for « vent » while Vendée, Meurthe-et-Moselle and the Alpes-Maritimes are also affected by floods, according to the bulletin published Wednesday afternoon.
A month of rain is expected to fall in one day on an axis going from Vendée to Champagne-Ardenne via the Paris region. The weather forecasting organization warns of the risk of flooding, due to “soils already very wet” after a particularly rainy month of September.
► Railway lines cut
As a precaution, the SNCF has scheduled a total interruption of traffic on several axes, in particular between Dax (Landes) and Tarbes (Hautes-Pyrénées), Bayonne and Hendaye (Pyrénées-Atlantiques) or even Saintes and Royan (Charente-Maritime).
In the Loire, TER rail traffic has resumed between Lyon and Saint-Étienne, said the SNCF. It was interrupted on Tuesday following a landslide caused by heavy rain.
► Gusts of 90 to 150 km/h
“During the afternoon, from Dauphiné to Lyonnais to the Loire and Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, we expect gusts of 90 to 110 km/h”warns Météo France, which emphasizes that they occur on “regions weakened by yesterday’s heavy rains”.
In New Aquitaine, a strong gale has already been felt, particularly on the western peaks of the Pyrenees. According to Météo France, gusts of 211 km/h were recorded overnight in the area of the Iraty ski resort, in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques.
► Heavy rain expected in the west
“Over the last 6 hours, the rainfall accumulations still remain modest, between 5 and 10 mm, locally 15 mm”indicates the Météo France bulletin. According to forecasts, the bulk of the depression should arrive in the West at midday.
In the Pays de la Loire, the first region affected by the center of the depression, « 60 à 80 mm » and until « 90 mm » Rain is locally expected during the day. In Loire-Atlantique, the rains will increase in intensity during the day, reaching 10 to 15 mm in an hour, according to a press release from the prefecture.
The rains will gradually ease but « 40 à 60 mm » are still planned in the Paris basin and in Champagne-Ardenne and « 30 à 50 mm » near the Belgian border.
Stormy rain will also affect the Alpes-Maritimes in the evening. Currently on yellow alert, they could be placed on orange alert.
► No major damage, 19 departments on orange vigilance Thursday
No major damage was reported as of mid-morning Wednesday.
Furthermore, Météo France only estimates the number of departments that will be on orange alert on Thursday at 19, only for “rain flood”and mainly in Île-de-France and Lorraine.
► Consequence of global warming
Storm Kirk is part of the very humid trend of the year over most of mainland France. At the end of the rainiest month of September in twenty-five years, the average annual precipitation totals have already been exceeded almost everywhere in the country, in Nice, Saint-Nazaire, Strasbourg and even Le Mans and Paris.
Globally, September was marked by “extreme precipitation”exacerbated by the abnormally hot temperatures on the planet for more than a year, a consequence of climate change caused by humanity’s greenhouse gas emissions, according to the European Copernicus Observatory.
