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Thunderstorms and floods: red vigilance lifted in the Gard, a woman still missing

2020-09-20T06:19:58.463Z


"The situation is developing favorably for most of the rivers in the department," said the prefecture.Torrential rains fell on the Cévennes massif on Saturday and a motorist was still missing on Sunday, but the Gard department is no longer on red alert. Sunday at 6 a.m., the orange storm vigilance was lifted on the five departments of the Mediterranean rim still on alert until then: Hérault, Gard, Bouches-du-Rhône, Var, Alpes-Maritimes. 63 departments and Andorra are now on thunderstorm yellow vig


Torrential rains fell on the Cévennes massif on Saturday and a motorist was still missing on Sunday, but the Gard department is no longer on red alert.

Sunday at 6 a.m., the orange storm vigilance was lifted on the five departments of the Mediterranean rim still on alert until then: Hérault, Gard, Bouches-du-Rhône, Var, Alpes-Maritimes.

63 departments and Andorra are now on thunderstorm yellow vigilance.

"The situation is evolving favorably for most of the rivers in the department," said the prefecture of Gard in a statement released after a second wave of precipitation, more limited, in the evening.

The second wave of rains and thunderstorms that the authorities feared hit the Cévennes in the first part of the night from Saturday to Sunday, but with more limited quantities of 30 to 60 mm depending on the location, said the prefecture, before to move east.

Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin and Minister of Ecological Transition Barbara Pompili are expected in the Gard on Sunday.

Evacuation of a hundred houses in Anduze

Saturday morning, downpours - up to 450 millimeters in two hours in places - had spilled over several localities in the Cévennes, forcing the authorities to put several hundred people to safety.

These rains had led to the swelling of many rivers, such as the Gardon in Anduze, and the cutting of several departmental roads.

During the day, water had rushed into several houses in the town, before withdrawing, leaving thick quantities of mud which the inhabitants tried in the evening to get rid of.

In Anduze, September 19, 2020 / AFP / NICOLAS TUCAT  

In the afternoon, a little more than a hundred houses located in the lower part of this city of some 3,400 inhabitants had to be evacuated, according to the mayor of Anduze Geneviève Blanc.

What quantified assessment for #AlerteMeteoGard?

Borgne Valley sector (Anduze / St Jean du Gard): 6 rescues with helicopters, 18 land rescues and 200 trips to safety.

Vigan-Valleraugue sector: 16 land rescues and 200 securing.

STAY HOME !

pic.twitter.com/l4ASO4LVDS

- Sapeurs Pompiers du Gard (@pompiersdugard) September 19, 2020

650 staff mobilized

In the town of Pont-d'Hérault, where 350 mm of rain accumulated, a missing 64-year-old motorist was still wanted, according to the prefecture.

"A person in his vehicle […] would have been seen by witnesses carried away by a fairly significant current of water […]", declared the communications manager of the Gard firefighters, Eric Agrinier, on BFMTV.

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About 650 personnel, firefighters and civil security soldiers as well as helicopters were mobilized to deal with these bad weather.

Dozens of rescues were carried out including six by helicopter.

More than 400 people have been brought to safety in the town of Valleraugue (200) and in the Saint-Jean-du Gard sector (220), according to the prefecture.

#floods of the #Gard


Tonight, 650 personnel were mobilized to help the population


- @pompiersdugard and external reinforcements


-Militaries of civil security (@ uiisc1 @ Uiisc7


-Crew of 5 helicopters (4 @SecCivileFrance and 1 @Gendarmerie) #Support #Recognition pic.twitter.com/hQHnSYTHTn

- Civil Security (@SecCivileFrance) September 19, 2020

Valleraugue, in the Cévennes, is one of the twenty “most affected” localities with cut communication, the radio and telephone networks having “fallen”, specifies the prefecture.

About 450 mm of rain was recorded in twelve hours.

The record dates from September 27, 1900 with 980 mm in ten hours.

In Saint-Jean-du-Gard, the level of the Gardon, identical to that recorded during the heavy rains of 2002, caused the flooding of the fire stations and the gendarmerie.

Flight diverted by a tornado

Saturday evening, an Air France flight interrupted its descent to Montpellier and was diverted to Marseille, while a tornado was visible from the airport of the Hérault prefecture.

🔴 Air France flight AF7684 interrupted its approach to Montpellier, while a tornado was observed near the airport.

pic.twitter.com/XuaxuMveUq

- air plus news (@airplusnews) September 19, 2020

The Cevennes episodes generally occur in autumn, when the Mediterranean Sea is the hottest, then promoting strong evaporation.

These hot, humid and unstable air masses move northwards causing heavy rains.

VIDEO.

Thunderstorms, rains, floods ... the Gard affected by severe weather

Source: leparis

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