Latest news with #Vigicrues
Local France
22-04-2025
- Climate
- Local France
South-west France on weather alert after heavy flooding
Five départements in south-west France - Charente-Maritime, Charente, Dordogne, Corrèze, and Gironde - were on Tuesday placed on France's 'orange' weather warning, which is the second highest alert , for flooding. According to the government flood alert service, Vigicrues, as of Tuesday, the primary rivers concerned by flooding were the Dronne, Isle and Vézère. You can keep up with the latest on the Vigicrues website . Vigicrues noted that the areas affected along the Dronne river are those in the départements of Charente, Charente-Maritime, Dordogne, Gironde and Haute-Vienne. Advertisement As for the Isle river, the Dordogne and Gironde départements are concerned, while the Vézere river could cause more flooding in the Corrèze et Dordogne départements. Map of flood zones, as of Tuesday (April 22). Credit: Vigicrues. Vigicrues noted that "flood peaks have been reached on all 'upstream' rivers under the orange alert, with water levels beginning to recede. "However, the flood is spreading to the lower Isle, where water levels are rising. On the lower Dronne, levels will continue rising today in the Coutras area (in the Gironde département)." As such, it is possible for more flooding to continue throughout the day on Tuesday. The flooding began over the weekend, after the region experienced rain and thunderstorms on Saturday and Sunday, leading flooding along the Seugne, Vézère, Dronne, Isle and Auvézere rivers. Bordeaux saw record rainfall on Saturday, with 42.7mm of rain dumped on the city in just 24 hours on Saturday, regional newspaper Sud Ouest reported. Meanwhile, eight campsites in the Dordogne département had to be evacuated, according to Franceinfo . The Isle river, passing through Périgueux, reached a peak of 3.43m on Monday to Tuesday night, breaking the previous record of 3.37m from 1993. Franceinfo reported that since Sunday, there have been 138 evacuations in Dordogne. This photograph shows restaurants closed following the overflowing of "la Vezere" river in Montignac-Lascaux, south-western France, on April 21, 2025. (Photo by ROMAIN PERROCHEAU / AFP) What about travel disruption? Several roads were closed over the weekend, and many remained blocked off on Tuesday morning. France Bleu reported that 'départemental' roads in the Gironde département, like RD 255 and RD 136, in the upper Gironde area near Braud-et-Saint-Louis were closed. Advertisement The RD 254toward Anglad and Eyrans was also closed, with a diversion set up. In the Libourne area, the RD247E3 and RD247 were cloesd, as was the RD120 in Savignac-sur-Isle. These roads may reopen on Tuesday, you can pay attention to the website for more updates. In Dordogne, local authorities have warned residents located near the Isle river to stay indoors and limit travel, with 13 départemental roads still closed. After several road accidents over the weekend, local authorities have continued to warn motorists to drive cautiously and pay attention to road signage, especially if it is indicating a section of the road is closed.
Yahoo
31-01-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
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 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?
Khaleej Times
30-01-2025
- Climate
- Khaleej Times
'I'm out of here': French town braces for rising floods
Floods had nearly encircled and seeped into a French town on Thursday, with officials warning that one nearby river could reach historic levels in coming days. The Herminia depression earlier this week unleashed downpours on northwestern France, sparking some of the worst floods in decades. Surrounded by two rivers, a canal and marshes, several parts of the town of Redon in Brittany have been sitting in water since Wednesday. The Vilaine river's level was on Thursday morning hovering just below that of historic floods in 2001, but was expected to rise further during the day, official alert body Vigicrues reported. Its projections could see the river surge to near a level not seen since 1936. "It's highly likely that the peak won't be reached today, but it will be in the next few days," said Redon's Mayor Pascal Duchene. 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, with camp beds lined in a row and tables and chairs set up under its basketball hoops. A second shelter was being set up at another sports centre for 200 people, a Red Cross official said. Adeline Bernard, 29, was one of the first people to find refuge at the sport hall. "When I saw that the electricity was going to cut, and that the water was rising, I thought: 'That's it, I'm out of here,'" she said. Isabelle Rousselet, 66, said she was happy to be living in a higher part of town. "It will take time for it to all drain away. It's a bit scary," she said. In a flooded part of town, one resident waded through the water at the bottom of her home in rubber boots, while another wobbled along long planks of wood balanced over cinder blocks at one street corner. In the adjacent town of Saint-Nicolas-de-Redon, on the other side of a flooded bridge, police had evacuated 300 people. In total, around 1,600 people have been forced to leave their homes in the wider region. President Emmanuel Macron assured on X on Thursday his "solidarity with resident of the west" of France. Minister of Ecological Transition Agnes Pannier-Runacher said she expected a "state of natural disaster" in coming days. Scientists have shown that climate change caused by humans burning fossil fuels is making storms more severe, super-charged by warmer oceans. Herminia, which brought on the heavy weather over western France, follows Storm Eowyn that hit Ireland and Britain before the weekend. Its impact on France's northwestern regions was exacerbated by the fact that the ground was already drenched from previous persistent rainfall.
Yahoo
30-01-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
'I'm out of here': French town braces for rising floods
Floods had nearly encircled and seeped into a French town on Thursday, with officials warning that one nearby river could reach historic levels in coming days. The Herminia depression earlier this week unleashed downpours on northwestern France, sparking some of the worst floods in decades. Surrounded by two rivers, a canal and marshes, several parts of the town of Redon in Brittany have been sitting in water since Wednesday. The Vilaine river's level was on Thursday morning hovering just below that of historic floods in 2001, but was expected to rise further during the day, official alert body Vigicrues reported. Its projections could see the river surge to near a level not seen since 1936. "It's highly likely that the peak won't be reached today, but it will be in the next few days," said Redon's Mayor Pascal Duchene. 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, with camp beds lined in a row and tables and chairs set up under its basketball hoops. A second shelter was being set up at another sports centre for 200 people, a Red Cross official said. Adeline Bernard, 29, was one of the first people to find refuge at the sport hall. "When I saw that the electricity was going to cut, and that the water was rising, I thought: 'That's it, I'm out of here,'" she said. Isabelle Rousselet, 66, said she was happy to be living in a higher part of town. "It will take time for it to all drain away. It's a bit scary," she said. In a flooded part of town, one resident waded through the water at the bottom of her home in rubber boots, while another wobbled along long planks of wood balanced over cinder blocks at one street corner. In the adjacent town of Saint-Nicolas-de-Redon, on the other side of a flooded bridge, police had evacuated 300 people. In total, around 1,600 people have been forced to leave their homes in the wider region. President Emmanuel Macron assured on X on Thursday his "solidarity with resident of the west" of France. Minister of Ecological Transition Agnes Pannier-Runacher said she expected a "state of natural disaster" in coming days. Scientists have shown that climate change caused by humans burning fossil fuels is making storms more severe, super-charged by warmer oceans. Herminia, which brought on the heavy weather over western France, follows Storm Eowyn that hit Ireland and Britain before the weekend. Its impact on France's northwestern regions was exacerbated by the fact that the ground was already drenched from previous persistent rainfall. bur-vid-mas/ah/sjw/js
Local France
28-01-2025
- Climate
- Local France
LATEST: Parts of western France remain on highest alert amid historic floods
Following devastating flooding due to storm Herminia, weather alerts remained in place in seven départements of western France on Tuesday morning. Three départements - Morbihan, Loire-Atlantique and Ille-et-Vilaine - were still on 'red warning' (the highest level) of weather alert, while four others - Calvados, Orne, Mayenne and Maine-et-Loire - were on the second-highest level of alert (orange), due to continued risk of flooding. Forecasters have indicated that the 'red' weather alerts will remain in place until at least Wednesday. The areas at most at risk of flooding, according to French national weather service Météo France, are those around the Seiche and Vilaine rivers in the départements of Mayenne and Ille et villaine #VigilanceRouge crues de la #Vilaine médiane (dép 35) et aval (dép. 35, 44, 56) et de la #Seiche (dép 35). #VigilanceOrange crues des cours d'eau : #Oust, #Vilaine amont, #Oudon, #Orne, #Meu. Restez informés sur l'application #Vigicrues — Vigicrues (@Vigicrues) January 28, 2025 So far, there have been no casualties reported in the city of Rennes that was hit by severe flooding over the weekend, nor in the hard-hit Ille-et-Vilaine département, French daily Le Parisien reported. What about travel conditions? As of Tuesday morning, train traffic between Le Mans and Angers was 'severely disrupted', regional newspaper Ouest France reported. Meanwhile, the Fougeray Langon station in Ille-et-Vilaine is closed due to weather conditions, French national rail service SNCF announced on their website. Otherwise, rail travel was expected to return to normal, SNCF Réseau told BFMTV on Monday. That said, you should still check the status of your train before heading to the station. People travelling in the area should also keep an an eye on the Ille-et-Vilaine préfecture website for updates and travel recommendations, as several roads have also been cut off and public transport services are suspended in some areas. Do not attempt to drive through a submerged road. What is the weather outlook? More rain is expected throughout Tuesday and on Wednesday in western France, and parts of western France (mainly Finistère) are forecast to have high winds (up to 130km) on Tuesday. They also noted in the Tuesday morning bulletin that water levels along the Seiche and parts of the Vilaine (the médiane) would "stabilise and will fall slightly" at the end of the day. However, along other parts of the Vilaine (the 'aval'), "given the spread of the flooding, exceptional levels are expected from the night of Tuesday to Wednesday in the Redon area". "In Normandy and the Pays de la Loire, the flooding around the Orne and Oudon is spreading, but no significant worsening is expected in these areas," the forecasters warned. You can stay updated on the status of nearby rivers by going to the website. The flooding experienced in Rennes over the weekend is the worst since the city's historic floods of 1981, said local authorities. Inondations à Rennes. — Solenne Durox (@SolenneDurox) January 26, 2025 Away from western France, an orange alert was issued for avalanches in the Champsaur and Pelvoux massifs, after rainfall. Météo France said the risk of avalanches would decrease as precipitation ends on Tuesday morning.
