On Thursday strong flooding hit France, most acutely in the South of France. An orange weather alert was given out for 34 departments throughout the country, and in six departments it even heightened to a red weather warning. Thousands of inhabitants had to be evacuated, in addition to the strong floods causing great damage. A couple of people have been injured, and a man was killed by a falling tree.
In the Ardèche region more than 60 centimetres of rain amassed in only 48 hours, which is why they had to evacuate the centre of the city Annonay. Train routes, airports as well as motorways were affected. The A47 between Lyon and Saint-Etienne was partly underwater, and it still has not reopened yet.
The French prime minister Michel Barnier first of all thanked the firefighters and the paramedics on Friday morning, for their extensive commitment of intervening 2,300 times in the last 24 hours, saving people’s lives. One needs to expect more and more of these natural catastrophes which are increasing steadily due to climate change.
Despite varying forecasts from Meteo France, conditions calmed overnight in most regions. By Friday morning, only 10 departments remained under orange weather warnings. These include Loire, Bouches-du-Rhône, Gard, Landes, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Tarn, Ariège, Haute-Garonne, Tarn-et-Garonne, and Gers, mainly concentrated in southern France. Red weather alerts were lifted by Friday morning, but caution is still advised when venturing outside.
