Météo France placed 13 departments on orange alert this Thursday, in the southern half of France, due to storms and the risk of flooding.
Thirteen departments on orange alert this Thursday. Météo France calls for caution in the face of a large-scale Cévennes episode requiring particular vigilance due to the very heavy accumulations of rain expected”, as well as an “intense rain-storm episode over part of the south-west and the Alps- Maritime, requiring special monitoring due to its intensity and duration.
Departments on orange alert:
Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Aude, Tarn, Lot, Corrèze, Aveyron, Lozère, Hérault, Gard, Ardèche, Haute-Loire, Loire, Alpes-Maritimes
Schools closed in the Alpes-Maritimes
As a precaution, in the Alpes-Maritimes, all establishments welcoming young people, from nurseries to high schools, will remain closed this Thursday, as had already been the case on October 8, announced the prefect. In Nice, parks will be closed and measures to shelter the homeless have been taken 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. In the Alpes-Maritimes, rain is expected from Thursday at midday, with a lull expected during the night from Thursday to Friday.
On the relief of the Cévennes and Vivarais, the accumulations reach 200 to 300 mm since the start of the episode, up to occasionally 350 to 400 mm in the Lozère Cévennes, and 450 to 500 mm on the Ardèche mountains. On Wednesday morning, the SNCF decided to completely interrupt train traffic between Alès (Gard) and Langogne (Lozère) until Friday morning, “for the safety of travelers and in order to avoid any incident”.
In the Pyrénées-Atlantiques, precipitation began on Wednesday evening and could result in significant accumulations in the Basque mountains. Finally in Corrèze, Lot, Tarn and Aveyron, precipitation is expected Thursday afternoon until Friday morning with possible peaks of around 100 mm towards the Lot and the west of Aveyron.
