Finistère, Morbihan and Ille-et-Vilaine were on orange alert for flooding on Sunday, January 25, according to Météo-France and the national river monitoring service Vigicrues.
After several days of sustained rainfall, several Breton watercourses are overflowing, warns France’s flood-alert body Vigicrues in its latest report.
State weather service Météo France says rainfall intensity has eased since January 22 with a relative lull setting in on Sunday. However, soils across Brittany remain fully saturated, meaning rivers remain highly sensitive and water levels are slow to fall.
Watercourses indicated with yellow and orange are currently at high risk of floodingVigicrues
“A succession of disturbances has affected Brittany this week, causing flooding on the majority of watercourses,” says the January 25 Vigicrues report.
“While precipitation has lost intensity, flood propagation and localised overflows are continuing on many rivers.”
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A new weather system was expected to affect western France on Sunday, but rainfall over Brittany was forecast to be weaker than in previous days and “not of a nature to significantly restart flooding”, according to the bulletin. In many areas, water levels are beginning to stabilise or slowly recede.
On the Laïta, in Finistère, water levels were expected to rise again during Sunday morning’s high tide, with significant overflows forecast in Quimperlé, where the lower town has already been inundated.
On the Oust, which flows through Ille-et-Vilaine and Morbihan, a major flood wave is continuing to move downstream.
While peak levels have already been reached upstream near Josselin, water levels further downstream were expected to remain comparable to those recorded on Friday. Significant flooding has been reported in areas including Malestroit.
Along the Atlantic coast, Vigicrues warned that tidal conditions are continuing to cause localised flooding in some estuaries, further complicating drainage in coastal river systems.
Emergency services have remained mobilised since the start of the event. Firefighters across the region have carried out close to 200 interventions linked to flooding, fallen trees and damaged power lines, with some 150 personnel deployed at the height of the storm, according to regional authorities.
Two people were injured on Friday in Finistère, regional broadcaster ICI Breizh Izel reported. One motorist was hurt when a tree fell onto a vehicle, while a passenger on a Brest-Quimper train was injured after the train struck debris on the line.
Authorities warned that flooding could continue to disrupt transport, including road traffic and rail services, and that power cuts remain possible.
Residents were also advised to avoid underground spaces such as cellars and car parks, and to remain alert near rivers.
