Gironde risks flooding in wake of Storm Carmen

Residents are warned to be very careful when travelling around, especially near the coast, and reminded that under no circumstances should they enter a flooded road or area, whether on foot, in a car, or on a bike.

“Orange” warnings are the second-most severe, just one down from the most severe “red”.

Despite the flood risk, Storm Carmen has now passed over France, with relatively few instances of serious damage, except for reports of one person who died in the conditions, one wind turbine breaking in the Vendée, and thousands of homes left temporarily without electricity on the Atlantic Coast.

The storm and its strong winds have been linked to higher-than-average temperatures for this time of year.

“In general, storms are brought over on ocean currents, which bring higher temperatures to Europe,” explained Patrick Galois of Météo France, speaking to news source FranceInfo.

Météo France announced that this December 31 had broken records for its high temperature, with 15.1°C recorded in Paris ahead of New Year’s Day, and 15.2°C in Strasbourg - higher than the 14.8°C record measured in Paris on the same day over 100 years ago, in 1872.

On average, France saw temperatures of 11°C from December 31-January 1, beating the previous record of 10.5°C on average, measured in 2006.