Heavy rains are once again affecting France, particularly in the south-east, from this Friday or for the whole weekend. Significant accumulations equivalent to several weeks of precipitation are forecast and raise fears of flooding.
New rains and a new risk of flooding only a week after the violent bad weather which affected France? Cévennes and Mediterranean episodes are expected to hit the south-east of the country again from this Friday, October 25 and until the end of the weekend. Three departments are placed on orange vigilance for rain and floods from this Friday by Weather France : the Alpes-Maritimes, Gard and Var. The Var is also on alert against the risk of flooding. And the meteorological agency warns that other territories could also be put on alert in the coming hours and over the weekend, as well as the level of vigilance could worsen.
Heavy rains have already fallen in the south of the country during the night from Thursday to Friday, sometimes bringing significant accumulations equivalent to a month of precipitation in just a few hours: more than 160 mm of water was observed in Luc, in the Var. A situation which could still last this Friday between periods of calm according to Météo France: “Stormy showers are triggered on the coast and the Var interior and strengthen until the morning of Friday. Throughout the day, the accumulations reach thus 50 to 80 mm, locally 120 to 150 mm in the interior. In the Gard, the totals falling overnight are between 50 and 80 mm, but the rain-storm line should still bring between 100 to 150 mm in the coming hours after a calm.
The highest risk day planned for Saturday
The rainy episode which began on Thursday evening “remains fairly dispersed but is sometimes very intense”. Above all, “another significantly more intense episode” will affect the south-east of France and Corsica from Saturday to Sunday warns The Weather Channelwhich adds: “The day of Saturday, and particularly the evening, seems to be the period most at risk” with thunderstorms which will follow one another all day.
While already significant accumulations of rain are expected by Friday evening, La Chaîne Météo expects to see between 150 and 350 mm of precipitation falling on the Cévennes between Thursday and Sunday evening. 100 to 200 mm are expected over the same period in the lower plain of the Rhône valley and 150 to 200 mm in the Var, the Alpes-Maritimes and Corsica.
Significant flood risks
With rain that has already been heavy and is expected to last throughout the weekend, the risk of flooding is real. “The risks linked to this heavy rain are new overflows in the Cévennes, but more moderately than last week, and rather to the south of the massif. We also fear flooding under stationary storms in the lower Rhône valley” warns La Chaîne weather report. We must also remain attentive to “the risk of runoff and the very high risk of flooding” feared for Saturday in Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur which is the region “most threatened by these bad weather”.
“Rapid floods are to be feared” particularly in the Var where certain rivers have already swollen considerably, such as the Argens river which rose from 1.62 meters on Thursday to 8.04 meters on Friday morning depending on the levels. reported by BFMTV. “The rivers may experience significant rises but more spread out over time and lower than last week,” warns La Chaîne Météo in a more temperate manner. In addition to heavy rains, it is also the soils already saturated with water that increase the risk of flooding.
Latest updates
12:32 – Roads flooded in the Var, authorities call for vigilance
In the Luc and Vidauban sectors, in the Var, Météo France “estimates that it has fallen between 120 and 150 mm since Thursday evening and locally between 170 and 200 mm towards Vidauban and the east of Luc (188 mm in Luc , 163 mm at Vidauban, 40 to 50 m towards Grimaud”. In response, several watercourses swelled, even overflowed, leading to flooding. The prefect of Var indicated that he had activated the departmental operational center, calling “for vigilance during any movement and near watercourses” in a press release at 8:30 a.m. “The prefect adds that around sixty firefighters have been “prepositioned in the Vidauban sector with 3 water rescue teams” and “reconnaissance are underway in the sector and that of Garde-Freinet”.
In a new update made at 10 a.m., the prefecture reports flooding on several road sections such as the A8, some roads are also cut. “During stormy rains, significant runoff can occur (…). Thirty cm of water is enough to wash away a car” remind the authorities who invite the population to stay away from waterways, banks and bridges, and to limit travel in affected areas.
12:19 – The Alpes-Maritimes switches to orange rain-flood vigilance
Météo France placed a third department on orange alert for rain-flooding in its midday bulletin: the Alpes-Maritimes. The territory therefore joins the Var and the Gard in anticipation of a rainy episode expected in the evening of Friday and until Saturday. “Very active storm cells are coming up from the sea, with high rain intensities, 50 to 70 mm sometimes in less than an hour. The rainy episode continues all day from Saturday and night from Saturday to Sunday. The expected accumulations over the entire episode are 80 to 100 mm widespread over the department, and occasionally 150 to 200 mm over a large western half of the department,” warns the agency.
12:10 – Rivers are already overflowing in the Var
Significant amounts of rain, up to 190 mm locally, fell in the Var according to the Weather Channel. Accumulations which “generate a strong reaction from the Aille”, a river in the center of the department, reports Météo France which notes “a significant flood” of this watercourse via its Vigicrues service: “In a few hours, the flow has been multiplied by 7,000″, notes forecaster Gaétan Heymes on X. The river’s coastline went from “2 m in the middle of the night to more than 8 m at 6:30 a.m.”, added LCI meteorologist Guillaume Woznica, on the social network.
Other overflows were also observed on sections of the middle and downstream Argens and the Nartuby. Other floods are expected “during the day” warns Vigicrues because “after a lull in the afternoon, new precipitation in the evening should again feed these watercourses”.
10:29 – The Var also goes into orange alert for floods
Two departments are placed on orange alert for Friday and Saturday according to the Météo France bulletin: Gard and Var are on alert for rain and floods. But in its 10:15 a.m. bulletin, the meteorological agency added an orange alert for floods in the Var. The alert is also expected to last until tomorrow.