Six departments on orange alert

SIX departments in the south-west and east are on orange alert for bad weather conditions, including rain and floods, snow and avalanches.

It comes as a total of 27,000 homes were this morning reported to be suffering power cuts in the south-west linked to the bad weather conditions, notably strong winds last night.

Areas in the south-west affected by rain and flooding include Ariège (09), Haute-Garonne (31), Pyrénées-Atlantiques (64) and Hautes-Pyrénées (65). More strong rain is expected today and until lunchtime tomorrow (Saturday).

There are risks of avalanches in Savoie (73) and Haute-Savoie (74).

Mountain areas in the east of France have generally had heavy snowfall and zones affected by snow rather than rain are moving lower down.

HGVs have been banned from motorways in some of the affected areas.