The Hérault, the Gard, the Vaucluse, the Bouches-du-Rhône as well as the Var, placed by Météo-France in orange vigilance since Tuesday, saw this one renewed for the day of Wednesday with new storms expected in the afternoon, which could be locally violent and generate heavy accumulations of precipitation.
Three Norman departments, Manche, Calvados and Seine-Maritime, were also placed on orange alert from 2:00 p.m. time”, according to the latest report from Météo-France.
In the South-East, after a temporary lull in the morning, “new storms are reforming on the reliefs of Hérault and Gard and at the start of the afternoon, stormy lines are reforming at sea and again touching the Bouches-du-Rhône and the Var”, specifies the meteorological institute, which evokes “summer storms” without qualifying the episode as “Mediterranean”.
These storms could be “locally violent with strong rain intensities” which could reach “80 mm in a short time, with hail and strong gusts of wind of the order of 80 to 100 km / h”.
Cumulative precipitation of 100 to 150 mm may even be reached locally, anticipates Météo-France, which estimates that the Bouches-du-Rhône department will be the most exposed, “with thunderstorms which can be long-lasting and not very mobile”.
The lifting of orange vigilance is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. for Gard and Hérault and 10:00 p.m. for Bouches-du-Rhône, Vaucluse and Var.
– Minimal damage –
During the night from Tuesday to Wednesday, thunderstorms, sometimes accompanied by heavy rain, have already swept the South-East from west to east, from Aude to Var, but no significant damage was recorded, according to the services. relief interviewed by AFP. Orange vigilance had been lifted overnight for Aude, Tarn and Aveyron.
“At this stage, no damage, small interventions on all the departments placed in orange vigilance, nothing serious, prevention has done its job and we have nothing to report”, reassured on RMC Grégory Allione, the president of the National Federation of Firefighters of France.
In the Hérault, Météo-France noted “up to 75 mm of precipitation in Montarnaud and 97 mm in Puechabon, including 86 mm in one hour”.
In Hyères, in the Var, the heavy rains on the city were accompanied by hailstones the size of marbles and a gust of wind was recorded at 116 km / h.
At the Marseilles court, many offices were flooded due to a crack in a rainwater pipe, the prosecution reported on Twitter. “But everything is going well now”, he reassured then.
Similarly, two tunnels allowing to cross the second city of France, those of the Major and the Old Port, were closed, invaded by the rain during the night. At the end of the morning, the Major tunnel was still inaccessible to motorists.
All of the beaches on the Marseille coast were closed to swimming, due to the risk of pollution.
Tuesday evening, Ile-de-France was also affected by “very intense” thunderstorms, according to Météo-France, which temporarily disrupted public transport.
