Six departments are under a maximum red warning for unfavourable weather conditions on Thursday: Haute-Loire, Loire, Lozère and Rhône (river flooding) and Ardèche (heavy rain). In Alpes-Maritimes, a red warning for heavy rain and flooding will be in force from 18:00, French media reported.
Red level warnings will be in force in Ardèche until midnight and in other departments until at least Friday.
Nineteen departments in southern France have also been placed on orange alert (second highest) by state forecaster Météo France due to warnings of heavy rain, storms and possible flooding.
The following departments have been placed on orange alert: Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Lot, Corrèze, Tarn, Aveyron, Lozère, Gard, Landes Alpes-Maritimes, Puy-de-Dôme, Aude, Hérault, Loire, Dordogne, Ariège, Hautes-Pyrénées, Haute-Garonne, Tarn-et-Garonne, Rhône, Var and Alpes-de-Haute-Provence.
A level 2 rain and storm warning is also in effect for much of northern and central France.
Warning level has been raised to red
In the Ardèche department, where the warning level has been raised to red (the highest possible) this morning, residents are being warned to stay indoors and only leave their homes if absolutely necessary, and not to drive.
Record rainfall has fallen in the department over the past 24 hours, including in Barnas, where 433mm of rain fell, according to Météo France forecaster Frédéric Douay. This is 100 mm more than the previous record recorded in 2014.
Several roads in and around the department were closed due to flooding. In Ardèche, these are sections of roads RD 120, RD 404, RD101, RD 15 and RD 151.
Annonay town centre in the department was completely closed after severe flooding. Videos of the flooding can be seen on the local media website Le Dauphine.
Schools and kindergartens will be closed this afternoon in Ardèche. Where possible, they have been evacuated (although all evacuations have been peaceful, the prefecture says), and where this cannot be done, students will remain indoors throughout the day.
Since the rain began in Ardèche, firefighters have made more than 250 weather-related sorties. Schools in the Alpes-Maritimes department, including kindergartens, primary and secondary schools and colleges are closed today, after being asked by the prefecture last night not to close them.
In the department’s capital Nice, parks and some other public places are closed and temporary shelter has been provided for the homeless.
Up to 100mm of rain could fall in the department during today’s downpours, especially in the west. Soil in the department has already been soaked with moisture after last week’s storms, leading to a risk of flooding. This comes a week after Storm Kirk swept across France, leaving a trail of destruction and flooding and causing at least one death.
