A section of the Lignon du Velay, one of the Haut Allier, another of the Loire Vellave and a section of the Gier, a river that flows into the Rhône south of Lyon, were placed on red alert due to risk on Thursday, October 17. of floods, announced the prefects and the Vigicrues information service. Météo-France has also applied a red watch for flooding in the Rhône, Loire, Haute-Loire and Lozère and for risks of rain and flooding in Ardèche and Alpes-Maritimes.
“A major disturbance is approaching from the south over the country and generating intense stormy rainfall in some places”with a “Cévennes episode” giving accumulations of rain “exceptional, especially in the Ardèche terrain”where until “630 mm in 48 hours” They were observed in a very local way, Météo-France specifies in its 2:00 p.m. bulletin.
In the Rhône, “The population is asked to respect the security perimeters and not approach the surrounding areas” du Gier, wrote prefect Fabienne Buccio in X. The A47 motorway, which passes nearby, was closed.
More than 100 millimeters of rain are expected in the eastern Haute-Loire, the prefecture said. In the department, the “The concern mainly concerns Lignon” but “The Loire has also entered red surveillance, although the surveillance is less pronounced” Prefect Yvan Cordier, who traveled to Chambon-sur-Lignon, told Agence François-Presse. In this locality, the university near the river was closed and university students were picked up at the station, he said.
Schools were also evacuated, some houses were flooded and livestock swept away, said Chambon-sur-Lignon mayor Jean-Michel Eyraud. “At the moment there are no victims but we remain very attentive”said the prefect of Haute-Loire, who preemptively called a helicopter and a column of 80 firefighters. “The peak of the flood is expected around 2:00 p.m. and a message of alert and caution is transmitted to all people located in the area” of Lignon and the Loire, Cordier stressed. “We recommend the greatest caution, in particular avoiding approaching the river to see the flood, this can be very dangerous”he added.
The center of Annonay was flooded
In Ardèche, several roads have been closed due to flooding or landslides, according to the prefecture. The town center of Annonay is flooded and schools and nurseries were evacuated on Thursday morning following heavy rain, the town hall announced in a press release posted on its website. “The entire center of the flooded city is evacuated”the city council informed Agence France-Presse. School and urban transportation is suspended and seven streets in the city center are closed to traffic, the city council reported in a press release. “Secondary school students are now safely confined”is specified.
At dawn, thirteen departments were on orange alert, leading to the closure of schools, especially in the Alpes-Maritimes. As a precaution, all establishments in the department that welcome young people, from daycare centers to secondary schools, will be closed on Thursday, the prefect announced. In Nice, parks will be closed and the city has taken measures to house the homeless. In Gard, school transportation is canceled in the northern half of the territory. In Lozère, school transport is suspended in the southeast of the department.
Rail traffic will also be completely disrupted on several lines north and northeast of Toulouse throughout Thursday due to “Strong winds, rain and storms”announces liO Train SNCF Occitanie. “A total interruption of traffic is planned for Thursday on the Toulouse-Rodez, Toulouse-Mazamet, Rodez-Brive, Montauban-Cahors-Brive, Toulouse-Figeac-Aurillac axes. No replacement of roads will be carried out »specifies liO Train SNCF Occitanie. On Wednesday morning, the SNCF had already decided to completely interrupt rail traffic between Alès (Gard) and Langogne (Lozère) until Friday morning.
In the Pyrenees-Atlantiques, rainfall began on Wednesday night and could cause significant accumulations in the Basque mountains. In the Alpes-Maritimes, rain is expected from Thursday midday, with a break overnight from Thursday to Friday. Finally, in Corrèze, Lot, Tarn and Aveyron, precipitation is expected from Thursday afternoon to Friday morning with possible peaks of about 100 millimeters towards Lot and west of Aveyron.
