Orange alert for rain and flooding: eleven départements under surveillance

This Monday, October 7, Météo-France issued an orange alert for eleven départements due to heavy rain and the risk of flooding. The agency is forecasting particularly heavy rainfall, up to 200 mm in just 12 hours in some areas.

Initially, three départements were placed under vigilance orange at 6 a.m. this morning. By midday, eight new territories had joined them: Ain, Isère, Rhône, Loire, Saône-et-Loire, Jura, Hautes-Alpes, Alpes-Maritimes, Lozère, Gard and Ardèche. According to Météo-France, this was a “rainstorm of unusual magnitude for October, except in the Cévennes regions”.

The rainy episode, which is due to start at around 10pm this evening, will last until Tuesday morning. The rains, initially concentrated in the Massif Central, will move south-eastwards, reaching the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur and Corsica regions, where they will take the form of a more classic Mediterranean episode.

At the same time, several other départements have been placed under yellow alert for thunderstorms, due to the high atmospheric instability accompanying this disturbance. Authorities are urging caution, particularly in areas at risk of flash flooding.