Storms and flooding that began on Monday evening, 19 October, have hit several departments in southeast France and the island of Corsica. On Tuesday, 20 October, the Bouches-du-Rhône prefecture said a 75-year-old man was swept away by floodwater at Saint-Mitre-les-Remparts and later found dead in neighbouring Istres. The person with him was rescued. Separately, one person was reported missing in Haute-Corse, the northern department of Corsica, where the highest weather alert applies.

Red alert in northern Corsica

Haute-Corse was under red vigilance, the highest weather alert level, on Tuesday morning. 20 Minuten reported that 25 millimetres of rain fell there in six minutes on Tuesday morning. The Keraunos observatory recorded more than 11,000 lightning strikes between 06:00 and midday, 3,400 of them ground strikes, and said more than 1,500 hit the commune of Solaro alone. BFMTV reported 416 millimetres of rain over 24 hours, 189 of them between 10:00 and 11:00 on Tuesday. Météo-France confirmed rainfall rates above 100 millimetres per hour in places. Totals in the south of the department could exceed 500 millimetres, while the rest of the red-alert zone was expected to receive 200 to 300 millimetres.

Past 24 hours416

20 October, 10:00 to 11:00189

Past 24 hours

416 mm

20 October, 10:00 to 11:00

189 mm

Data from the article text

Flooding across the southeast

Météo-France kept seven departments under orange warning on Tuesday: Ardèche, Bouches-du-Rhône, Haute-Corse, Gard, Hérault, Var and Vaucluse. Lozère was no longer under alert. Flood warnings on the Vistre and Vidourle rivers in Gard stayed at orange, and the Rhôny overflowed its banks in Gard, flooding roads. The latest Météo-France bulletin recorded 60 to 90 millimetres over 12 hours in the southeast of Lozère and 60 to 80 millimetres inland in Hérault. For Bouches-du-Rhône, Vaucluse and Var, it expected 50 to 80 millimetres, locally up to 150 millimetres within a few hours. BFMTV reported that Arles recorded rain equal to nearly two and a half months, beating the station's October monthly record, and that Aigues-Mortes saw up to two and a half months of rain in a few hours.

Transport and road closures

The A9 motorway was closed between Nîmes and Montpellier from 04:30 on Tuesday, according to BFMTV. A section of the A55 was partly closed after the carriageway collapsed, according to the Bouches-du-Rhône fire service. The D568 and D5 between Saint-Mitre-les-Remparts and Istres were cut, and the La Mède exit was fully flooded. In Marseille, trams T1, T2 and T3 were halted early on Tuesday, and the RTM network said at 08:30 that service was resuming gradually. TER trains between Marseille and Miramas were interrupted in both directions, with the SNCF warning of delays, cancellations and diversions. The fire service reported more than 200 call-outs from the night into Tuesday morning across the department, up from about a hundred earlier in the morning, and urged drivers to stay off the roads.

Emergency measures in towns

Authorities activated emergency plans in several towns. Saint-Martin-de-Crau in Bouches-du-Rhône, and Le Grau-du-Roi and Saint-Laurent-d'Aigouze in Gard, all activated local crisis measures. The crisis cell had been activated on Monday in the prefectures of Gard and Hérault. Nîmes closed crèches and leisure centres until midday on Tuesday. Montpellier closed public facilities from 15:00 on Monday and opened two gymnasiums for the most vulnerable residents. In Istres, flood victims were evacuated to a gymnasium, according to the town hall. Firefighters in Hérault secured 25 people around Lunel, including four vehicles trapped by floodwater.

Weather system and outlook

The episode is linked to a cold drop named 'Adam' over Spain, a country that has also suffered torrential rain and flooding, according to 20 Minuten. The storms were moving toward Italy, where Liguria was already hit by heavy rain on Tuesday, according to Telegraaf. In Corsica, rain was expected to continue until late afternoon, with potentially violent storms crossing the island from west to east. From midnight on Tuesday, only river flood warnings were to remain in force.