The French climate service warned Wednesday of recent flash flooding dangers after fierce rainstorms lashed a lot of the nation in a single day, offering a measure of reduction for parched landscapes after a summer time of document drought.
Alert ranges have been introduced for 13 departments, together with a number of alongside the Mediterranean coast and across the southeastern metropolis of Lyon.
Warnings have been additionally issued for Normandy alongside the English Channel within the northwest, stretching towards the border with Belgium.
Heavy storms dumped two to 4 centimetres (0.8-1.6 inches) of rain in lower than an hour starting Tuesday night, with some areas reporting as much as seven or 9 centimetres.
However with the bottom hardened by this summer time’s excessive warmth and drought — July was the driest month recorded in France since 1961 — a lot of the rain couldn’t be absorbed by the soil and as a substitute overflowed into streams and roads.
No accidents have been reported, however public transport was disrupted together with in Paris, the place movies of inundated metro stations swamped social media.
“The storms are making their approach east… and might be violent with intense rain that in some locations might see as much as eight centimetres fall in a brief period of time,” the Meteo France climate company mentioned.
It warned that hail and wind gusts might probably trigger tornado-like situations.
Areas close to Lyon might see hail as massive as three centimetres in diameter, it mentioned, although rainfall might be restricted as a result of the storms are transferring quickly.
Authorities urged individuals to postpone journey plans if doable, and to keep away from waterways or attempting to hunt shelter below bushes.
“Simply 30 centimetres of water is sufficient to sweep away a automobile,” the prefecture of the Var division on the French Riviera mentioned.
The rain was nonetheless a assist for firefighters who’ve been battling a string of wildfires throughout France, particularly within the southwest, with main blazes now contained after burning hundreds of hectares.
The biggest, close to Landiras south of Bordeaux, blackened 7,400 hectares (18,300 acres) after it re-ignited this month, having already burned 14,000 hectares of land in July.
