Météo France warns of more rain in record-breaker June
Météo France has placed 24 departments on continued orange alert for rain and flooding, mainly across the north and south west, as June becomes a record-breaking month for rainfall.
Orange is the second-most severe alert level, with people warned to stay vigilant.
Drivers are warned to avoid small roads and expect delayed traffic, and residents in often-flooded areas are advised to take precautions to protect their property.
Heavy rain is expected across the regions, with flooding expected especially in Mayenne and Maine-et-Loire, and the Pyrénées-Atlantiques are expected to see at least 100mm of rainfall by the time the weather front has passed.
Intense rain across the country in recent days has broken records for June, which has become one of the wettest ever.
In the past 12 hours, Météo France recorded 60-80mm of rain in the south Parisian region, and 30-50mm across the rest of the departments on alert.
In Nantes, 56mm of rain was reported in just six hours, with 80mm expected in some nearby areas by today.
One Parisian forecaster, François Jobard, said that 78mm of rain had fallen in 24 hours near the Paris-Montsouris station, and some Métro stations were experiencing flooding.
One RER B train was derailed due to slippery and wet earth, with seven people reported as lightly injured. On the roads, over 585km of traffic jams in Ile-de-France were reported at 09h08 due to strong rain, with the A13 motorway cut off, and problems on the N19, N6, N3 and N4.
Yet, Météo France says that the predicted rainfall is likely to become less intense in the next few hours.
The departments of Ardennes, Marne and Meuse had been on alert, but this has now been lifted.
The full list of departments currently on orange alert is:
Aisne, Eure, Eure-et-Loir, Ille-et-Vilaine, Landes, Mayenne, Oise, Orne, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Hautes-Pyrénées, Sarthe, Paris and surrounding area, Seine-et-Marne, Yvelines, Essonne and Val-d'Oise.
