South hit by torrential rain

EIGHT departments in the south of France remain on weather alert, after more than a foot of rain fell in some places on Saturday, with more torrential rain and thunderstorms excepted to last until 16.00 on Monday afternoon.

The orange alert from Météo France applies to the Drôme, Lozère, Ardèche, Gard, Hérault, Bouches-du-Rhône, Isère and Vaucluse.

More than 38cm of rain was reported on Saturday in La Vacquerie, Hérault, and 24cm in Valleraugue, Gard.

The A75 motorway is closed in both directions at Le Bosc (Hérault), about 50km west of Montpellier, after three lanes of carriageway collapsed when heavy rain and hailstones triggered a rockfall.

The mayor of Lodève opened up two municipal halls to accommodate 200 people who were forced out of their homes through flooding or were stranded in their cars. Firefighters in the region rescued 27 people and were called out to another 41 reports of damage to property.

About 50 people were evacuated from a campsite in Anduze, Gard, and given shelter at a local school. A cinema in Alès was also closed because of flooding.

Inondations de Lodève 12/09/2015 par trendfrance