Heavy rain, floods and storms: 9 French departments placed on alert for Thursday
Three are on alert for Wednesday evening
Storms and potential flooding are predicted in southern France
Marc Rossmann / Shutterstock
Nine departments in the south of France have been placed on orange alert for Thursday, October 17, by state forecaster Météo-France with warnings of heavy rain, storms and potential flooding.
The departments on orange alert are: Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Lot, Corrèze, Tarn, Aveyron, Lozère, Ardèche, Gard and Alpes-Maritimes.
Three departments, Gard, Ardèche and Lozère, are on orange alert for heavy rain and storms on Wednesday evening.
“A low pressure system is moving up over the country and stormy precipitation will intensify in many regions, particularly in the south", Météo-France said on Wednesday afternoon. The phenomenon is known as an épisode cévenol.
It warned a total of 200-300mm of rain is expected across the Cévennes mountains in south-central France over a 48-hour period, “with possible peaks of 400/450 mm, or even more".
It comes a week after storm Kirk swept across France, leaving a trail of damage and flooding in its wake, and causing at least one death.
Read more: Flooding: why it is important to check your French property damage policy
