Hundreds of motorists were stranded on Tuesday evening on the A40 motorway, in the departments of Ain and Haute-Savoie, in the direction of Bourg-en-Bresse, due to heavy snowfall and ice storm .
According to
Le Dauphiné
, the town of Bellegarde opened its town hall to "
castaways on the road
", who were unable to continue their journey.
The Red Cross has also been mobilized to distribute rations to people in need.
Snow and ice caused the A40 motorway to be cut off in both directions at the end of the afternoon at Bellegarde-sur-Valserine (Haute-Savoie).
Heavy goods vehicles were prohibited on this highway and the prefecture had advised users against taking this route.
The prefecture of Isère had warned Tuesday against a "
significant risk of avalanches
" on the various massifs of the department, level 4 on a scale of 5, before an expected increase in mid-week due to intense falls of snow.
In Isère, the prefecture in a press release invited practitioners "
of hiking, skiing, snowshoeing and any other mountain activity
" to "
be very careful
" on the Chartreuse, Vercors, Belledonne and Les Massifs. Grandes-Rousses, where the avalanche risks will be "
strong
".
"
The practice of these activities outside of marked slopes is strongly discouraged
", she adds, specifying that "
Thursday and Friday, the risk of avalanches will increase further
".
For its part, the prefecture of Haute-Savoie had warned against a risk of the start of flows "
high for all the massifs of the department
".
"
The snowpack is very unstable and many avalanches of friable plates are likely to be triggered,
" she said in a statement.