Floods in France: emergency measures underway amid ‘historic’ conditions

Update February 17, 16:00: Charente-Maritime has also been issued with a red-tier alert for river flooding along a stretch of the Charente river by state forecaster Météo France.  Residents are advised to stay at home and avoid going into any basements or underground areas. Cars should not be driven.

An orange alert for rain and flooding has also been issued for the departments of Finistère and Morbihan for tomorrow (February 18) at 10:00.

Severe flood warnings remain in place across western France today (February 17) as persistent rainfall leaves many rivers at risk of breaking their banks. 

The Gironde and Lot-et-Garonne remain on a tier-four red alert for flooding along the Garonne river, with the Maine-et-Loire also facing a red alert from the Loire and parts of the Sarthe, Mayenne, and Loir rivers.

Authorities are warning of ‘historic’ floods around Angers, with emergency measures being put in place, including closing off riverbanks to the public. 

Today, the city will deliberately flood nearby roads along the Maine river (that flows through the city centre) in a bid to alleviate the strength of the river elsewhere.

Rail infrastructure in the Pays de la Loire has been damaged, state rail operator SNCF said, and trains in both the west and south-west continue to be delayed or cancelled due to flooding. Travellers should check the status of their journey in advance.

Around 5,000 homes in the Lot-et-Garonne remain impacted by power cuts and roads across several departments remain closed due to the flooding. 

Some properties in Langon (Gironde) are without access to clean drinking water.

In departments facing red alerts, residents should avoid driving on any flooded roads or those susceptible to flooding (bridges or fords through streams, roads adjacent to riverbanks, etc), and stay out of any basement areas in case of being trapped by floodwater. 

People should only go outside when necessary, and keep up to date with local weather information. 

Flooding from the Garonne and other nearby rivers has led to around 1,600 people being evacuated from their homes in the south-west since Thursday (February 12).

Historic flooding

Outside of these three departments, 11 others are facing heightened tier-three orange warnings over high river levels with many others facing less severe tier-two alerts (three Alpine departments also face heightened avalanche warnings).

Historic warnings came into force largely due to the impact of Storm Nils last week. 

The storm brought heavy and persistent rain to the west and south-west, following weeks of steady rainfall in the area that had seen 30% more rain across France than January averages, higher in areas such as Brittany and Corsica.

This exceptional rainfall had already saturated soils, meaning new rain has remained clogging the surface or swelling rivers.

"We've been experiencing flooding for 31 days straight. This is something we've never seen before," said Minister for Ecological Transition Monique Barbut during a visit to the Gironde department.

She confirmed that a state of natural disaster (catastrophe naturelle) would be declared in the affected areas, allowing residents to make insurance claims. However, this would be put on hold until all flooding risks subside.

On Friday (February 13), 174 of the 330 waterways assessed by river watchdog Vigicrues were facing flood warnings, beating records from the historic 2021 flooding. 

While river levels receded in parts of the south-west, renewed bouts of Atlantic rainfall are set to keep warnings in place throughout the week. 

Social media posts show the extent of recent flooding across France, but particularly from the Garonne river and Loire rivers. 

On Sunday (February 15) a 78-year-old woman was found dead in her car near Lamonzie-Montastruc (Dordogne). 

Hunters discovered the vehicle – a small voiture sans permis – during a hunt in the area.

The death was not thought to be related to flooding in the area, although it is unknown how the driver came off the road and her vehicle ended up in a nearby stream.