Heavy rainfall in parts of France caused flooding, evacuations and closed motorways and railway lines on Thursday.
The weather service Météo France issued the highest red warning level for six regions in the southern half of the country, and an orange warning level was issued for 34 regions. Further rain was expected in the evening.
Around 900 people, as well as numerous schools, had to be evacuated in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. Television images showed flooded motorways, submerged supermarkets and cars floating in the water.
The motorway and the railway line between Lyon and Saint-Étienne were disrupted. The national railway company SNCF announced that no trains would likely run between the two cities for several days.
The motorway operator Vinci Autoroutes warned in the evening of potential disruptions on over 30 French motorways.
Hundreds of firefighters deployed
According to the Interior Ministry, 1,500 firefighters were deployed, with sirens sounding in several towns.
“Everything will be done to assist the affected people,” Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said in Paris.
Initially, no one was harmed, but the authorities strongly warned against entering flooded areas on foot or by car.
Paris also experienced extreme rainfall, with meteorologists reporting that as much precipitation fell in one hour as would usually fall over two weeks.
“We are dealing with a situation that is unprecedented in its extent,” said Minister for Ecological Transition Agnès Pannier-Runacher. Locally, 60 centimetres of rainfall fell within 48 hours, which she said was “absolutely massive … This hasn’t happened in living memory.”
“We are collectively facing episodes connected to climate change that we are experiencing with increasing regularity, and we must prepare for them,” the minister warned.
A crisis unit was established in the ministry, with all relevant services being mobilised, she said.
Forty-seven people still trapped in supermarket
After the flooding of a supermarket in the town of Givors on the Rhone, where 47 people remained trapped in the evening, the supermarket chain Carrefour pre-emptively closed additional stores in Nice, Cannes, Monaco and Antibes.
Carrefour chief executive Alexandre Bompard announced that 39 employees, along with eight customers and employees from other shops, remained on the upper floor of the flooded supermarket.
The fire brigade was assessing when an evacuation might be possible, he said.
