Orange alert lifted, but major damage to be reported

While 28 departments were on orange storm alert last night, the alert was lifted by Météo France. But the night was not a restful one, and there was a lot of damage, particularly in Eure, Orne, Mayenne, Vosges… The results

Last night, Météo France had placed 28 departments on storm watch and predicted violent storms locally. Forecasters had warned, “between 20 and 40 mm of rain can fall in an hour, “sometimes more”, as well as “strong electrical activity, locally hail, and gusts of wind of the order of 70 to 90 km/h locally more” were expected. The French storm and tornado observatory, Keraunos, in Normandy, explains that the storms were mainly located in Eure, Seine-Maritime and Orne, with some impacts in Manche and Calvados.

Although the storms seem to be behind us and moving away, they have left their mark. It is time to take stock. The night was indeed very stormy, and considerable damage has been reported in many departments. Among the departments most affected, we can note Eure, Orne, Mayenne, and Vosges.

Significant damage in Eure following storms

The Eure department, and more specifically Evreux, was badly hit by the storms. While there were no injuries, there was significant material damage. “In Evreux, several businesses, shops, homes, and public facilities suffered significant damage (ceiling collapses and flooding),” the prefecture said in a statement. “Several businesses, shops, homes, and public facilities suffered significant damage (ceiling collapses and flooding),” the prefecture also said.

Several roads in the department were flooded and closed to traffic, as Nicolas Gavard-Gongallud, deputy for security to the mayor of Évreux, told BFMTV. The deputy mayor also announced that homes had been affected by flooding, “mainly basements, cellars”, and that “a few isolated cases of people who had their cellars flooded and who were relocated by family”. “We had to endure the damage of a fairly violent storm. Between 5pm and 7:30pm, around 40mm of rain fell, which represents several million litres that fell on Évreux”, he explained.

Lightning also struck a house without causing any injuries. “Lightning caused a fire in a home in Mesnil-Jourdain. The occupant was able to be evacuated without being injured,” the prefecture said.

Many homes without electricity, flooded roads, huge hailstones

In Eure, at 5pm yesterday, 6,500 homes were without electricity, and at 7:30pm, 3,500 homes still had no power. In Orne, 1,200 homes were victims of power cuts “at the height of the event”.

In Mayenne, several towns were affected by storms and heavy rains. This is the case of Alexain, Chailland, Contest, Saint-Baudelle, Ernée, Aron and Juvigné. Among the damage: trees on the tracks and flooded roads.

In Nord-Pas-de-Calais, several towns were flooded last night following torrential storms, as this photo shows.

“In the Vosges, the hailstones were the size of an apricot!” the mayor of Gérardmer Stessy Speissmann Mozas told France Bleu Sud Lorraine. According to Vosges TV, campers were evacuated to a village hall and a gymnasium in the towns of Granges-Aumontzey and Xonrupt-Longemer.

Aube also experienced downpours with huge hailstones.

A first stormy episode on Tuesday evening

On Tuesday evening, a dozen departments had already been placed on alert for violent storms. While no casualties were reported following the storm, some damage was still reported, especially flooding of homes. Images and videos on X also show the violence of the storms and the intensity of the rain and winds.

In Seine-Maritime, the municipalities of Bois-d’Ennebourg and Martainville-Épreville, as well as Yerville and Bois-l’Évêque, were the most affected, according to our colleagues at Actu, with 44 homes flooded. The Orléanais was also affected by strong winds and hail. Flooding of homes in the Puiseaux area, in Pithiverais, kept the firefighters busy late at night, according to the website The Republic of the Center.

On Thursday, August 1, 50 departments were on yellow alert, which means that the risk is minimal. While there are still homes without electricity, the storms had also impacted the Paris-Lyon TVG line. The SNCF spokesperson announced a “normal resumption” of train traffic this Thursday morning.