Seven departments in central France remain on orange alert on Thursday 5 September due to heavy rain forecast for the morning, Météo-France announced in its latest bulletin at 6:00 a.m.
The departments of Yonne, Nièvre, Saône-et-Loire, Allier, Puy-de-Dôme, Loire and Haute-Loire are affected by this orange warning for floods. They are also concerned by the yellow warning for storms. However, the orange warning was lifted early in Bouches-du-Rhône, Gard, Vaucluse, Alpes-Maritimes and Var. “The most violent storms have moved towards Italy and the scarce rainfall still present no longer justifies the orange alert in the departments of the Southeast”explained Météo-France.
“Less stormy but more continuous rain from Auvergne towards Burgundy until mid-morning”The forecaster added. In these regions, rainfall has already reached 30 to 60 millimetres fairly widely and 60 to 90 millimetres locally. On the Mediterranean side, storms produced accumulations of between 40 and 80 millimetres, locally 100 to 140 millimetres with peaks of 180 millimetres in the east of the Var.
Torrential rains in the city centre of Marseille
In Marseille, heavy rain on Wednesday afternoon forced the organisers of the Delta festival, where Justice, Julien Granel and Caravan Palace were due to perform, to cancel the first evening. “to ensure everyone’s safety”The festival will open on Thursday at 4 p.m. and will continue until Sunday, the organizers announced on Instagram.
On the French Riviera, a large bolt of lightning struck a stone cross on the dome of the Saint-Raphaël basilica in Var, firefighters told Agence France-Presse. The cross fell onto a public road but did not cause any injuries, they added.
From Haute-Loire to Yonne, an unstable axis of rain was expected to establish itself on Wednesday evening. The rains should “persist until Thursday”with expected accumulations “50 to 70 millimeters locally, 100 millimeters along this axis”adds Météo-France.
In Vaucluse, public access to the Toulourenc gorges is prohibited in the municipalities of Malaucène and Saint-Léger-du-Ventoux, as a precaution against the risk of flooding until the orange alert is lifted, the prefecture announced.
