Intense overnight rainfall battered the Gard and Hérault departments of southern France, forcing the closure of a stretch of the A9 motorway and inundating streets in the town of Lunel, as authorities maintained emergency alerts across several regions on Tuesday.
Motorway Closed in Both Directions
Traffic was halted along roughly ten kilometres of the A9 autoroute between Nîmes Ouest and Gallargues-Aigues in both directions due to flooding, according to the traffic information station 107.7. The closure stranded motorists and disrupted one of the main transport corridors linking the Rhône valley to Spain.
Lunel Residents Receive Phone Alerts
In Lunel, a town in the Hérault, several streets remained under water on Tuesday morning. Residents received emergency alerts on their mobile phones, and 16 people were taken in overnight at a municipal shelter. Local authorities urged inhabitants to avoid unnecessary travel and to stay away from waterways.
Four Departments on Orange Alert
Météo-France kept several types of orange warnings in force. The “rain-flood” alert covered Haute-Corse, Corse-du-Sud and the Var, while the Var was also placed under an “storm” warning. The Gard remained on orange alert for flooding, with the communes of Saint-Laurent-d’Aigouze, Aimargues, Vauvert and Aigues-Mortes particularly affected.
- Haute-Corse and Corse-du-Sud: orange alert for flood risk
- Var: orange alert for flooding and storms
- Gard: orange alert for river flooding
Earlier warnings for the Ardèche, Vaucluse and Bouches-du-Rhône were lifted ahead of schedule, though heavy downpours continued in the Bouches-du-Rhône, where meteorologist Paul Marquis warned that “the water will keep rising for at least three or four hours.” Significant flooding was reported in Istres, Salon-de-Provence and Martigues, where rainfall reached 220 millimetres.
FR-Alert Issued in the Var
Authorities sent an FR-Alert message to residents of the Var, calling on them to postpone non-essential journeys, avoid flooded roads, keep away from rivers and refrain from entering basements, underpasses and underground car parks.
Météo-France warned that the Mediterranean episode would persist, with further accumulations of 50 to 80 millimetres expected, locally reaching 100 to 150 millimetres in parts of the affected region.
