Heavy rain in parts of France on Thursday caused flooding, evacuations and closed highways and railway lines.
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 for 34 regions. More rain was expected in the evening.
In the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, around 900 people, as well as numerous schools, had to be evacuated. Television images showed flooded highways, flooded supermarkets and cars floating in the water.
The highway and railway line between Lyon and Saint-Étienne were disrupted. The national railway company SNCF announced that no trains will likely run between the two cities in the coming days.
Motorway manager Vinci Autoroutes warned tonight of possible disruptions on more than thirty French motorways.
Hundreds of firefighters deployed
According to the Ministry of the Interior, 1,500 firefighters were deployed, with sirens sounding in several cities.
“Everything will be done to help the people affected,” Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said in Paris.
Initially no one was injured, but authorities strongly warned against entering the flooded areas on foot or by car.
Paris also experienced extreme rainfall, with meteorologists reporting as much rainfall in one hour as normally falls in two weeks.
“We are dealing with a situation that is unprecedented in its scale,” said Minister of Ecological Transition Agnès Pannier-Runacher. Locally, 60 centimeters of rainfall fell within 48 hours, which she said was “absolutely huge… This hasn’t happened in living memory.”
“We are collectively confronted with climate change-related episodes that we are experiencing with increasing regularity, and we must prepare for them,” the minister warned.
A crisis unit has been established at the ministry, with all relevant services mobilized, she said.
Forty-seven people are still stuck in the supermarket
After the flooding of a supermarket in the town of Givors on the Rhône, where 47 people were trapped in the evening, supermarket chain Carrefour preventively closed additional stores in Nice, Cannes, Monaco and Antibes.
Carrefour CEO Alexandre Bompard announced that 39 employees, along with eight customers and employees from other stores, remained on the top floor of the flooded supermarket.
The fire department was assessing when an evacuation would be possible, he said.
