Photos: cars submerged during flash-floods in southern France

A return to normality is expected for most residents in the south of France as red-level weather alerts have been lifted following extreme storms yesterday.

Schools have opened again across the Gard and Hérault departments, and warnings to stay indoors have been lifted. 

A red-level flooding alert for the Lez river was also lifted last night, with the river’s levels slowly dropping.

However, train services on certain lines including many to and from Marseille will remain disrupted until at least midday, as will Montpellier’s tram service. Travellers should check their trains are still scheduled before heading to the station.

The Gard and Hérault departments faced the highest possible alerts for heavy rain / flash flooding yesterday, as more than 300mm of rain fell in some areas over the course of 24 hours.

In Saint-Hippolyte-du-Fort (Gard) a total of 334mm of rain fell, the equivalent of two months of rain.

Rainfall was equivalent in amount and intensity to “a bathtub per square metre,” at the height of the storms, said Gard prefect Fabienne Decottignies. 

No major injuries have been reported due to the storms, although firefighters in the two departments made dozens of interventions across the day, including rescuing drivers from vehicles caught in rapidly rising floodwater. 

Around 50 gendarmes in the Gard department patrolled bridges and roads closed to the public throughout the storm, in order to divert drivers attempting to use them. 

In 2024, several people in the department died during Storm Monica, many trapped in vehicles that were washed away by floodwater.

Widespread flooding 

Intense flooding hit several areas across the two departments, including in Montpellier. 

Videos below show the intensity of the flood, caused by heavy rain after months of practically no rainfall. Summer droughts caused soils to remain very dry, limiting the amount of water that could drain into it.

Despite this, damage from the storms remains limited, with no major damage to public infrastructure such as electricity grids or roads.

“Since 2002, town halls and local authorities have made significant efforts regarding the management of infrastructure, roads, and bridges, as well as the maintenance of watercourses,” Lieutenant-Colonel Max Charreyron of the Gard fire service, said to Le Monde.

“Emergency responders specialise in preventing this type of event, and the public has been informed and made aware [using the Fr-alert messaging system]. We are collectively much better prepared, but given climate change, we are bracing for large-scale events that could occur at any moment.” 

In Nîmes, authorities used an in-house meteorology department to track the weather conditions and prepare in advance. 

More rain expected today 

State forecaster Météo France predicts more rain across the south this morning, centred around Marseille and the Bouches-du-Rhône coast.

However, rainfall will not reach the levels of intensity seen during yesterday’s storms, and will move east in the afternoon, becoming less intense.

No department is facing a heightened (orange or above) warning for weather conditions, although tier-two yellow warnings for heavy rainfall / flash flooding remain in the Gard, Hérault, and Bouches-du-Rhône, with the latter also facing a yellow alert for stormy conditions.

These ask residents to remain vigilant about weather conditions, but do not ask them to take any specific actions.

Once today’s rainfall ends, the southern departments should see several days of dry weather.