Western France battles worst floods in decades after triple storm assault
More than 1,600 people have fled their homes in western France as a third major storm in a week brought record rainfall and extreme flooding.
Storm Ivo hit areas already struggling with flooding from storms Eowyn and Herminia. Red weather alerts remain active in three regions of Brittany – Ille-et-Vilaine, Loire-Atlantique and Morbihan.
Their combined impact of the storms was exacerbated by the fact that the ground was already drenched from previous persistent rainfall.
National weather service Météo France warned that the situation could get worse in the coming days and authorities are on high alert.
The town of Redon, surrounded by two rivers, a canal and marshes, has been underwater since Wednesday.The Vilaine river's level was hovering just below that of historic floods in 2001, but was expected to rise further, official alert body Vigicrues reported.
"It's highly likely that the peak won't be reached today, but it will be in the next few days," Redon's Mayor Pascal Duchene told French news agency AFP.
He said an estimated 750 residents could be affected.
The Red Cross had set up an emergency shelter for 50 people at a local gym. A second shelter was being set up at another sports centre for 200 people, a Red Cross official said.
Meanwhile, Ille-et-Vilaine's administrative centre Rennes experienced its worst flooding in 40 years, with rainfall around the city exceeding 178mm for January.
The city of Rennes has already begun looking into ways to manage urban development and prevent flooding.
Read more on RFI EnglishRead also:Number of cyclones steady, but storms more intense due to climate changeClimate disasters cost French insurers €6.5bn in 'worrying uptick'Why is northern France so vulnerable to treacherous flooding?
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