After the passage of Pyrénées-Atlantiques and Landes in red for flood risk, Météo-France placed Sunday evening the Hautes-Pyrénées, Haute-Garonne, Ariège and the Pyrenees-Atlantiques with maximum rain-flood vigilance. Four other departments are also in orange vigilance: the Gers, the North and the Aisne for flood risks, and the Pyrénées-Orientales for avalanches, according to the latest weather report. The Pyrenean principality of Andorra has also been placed on orange vigilance avalanches.
– Meteo France
Floods, mudslides and torrential rains threaten the Pyrénées-Atlantiques and the Landes
According to the Vigicrues surveillance network, a “major flood” Gave d’Oloron, classified as red vigilance, is expected in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques and downstream, in the Landes, and should surpass its level of last December.
In the Pyrénées-Atlantiques, in Haute-Soule near Tardets, mudslides and torrential floods are possible that could cut roads, and flood peaks are expected by midday.
900 households without electricity in the Basque Country
This Monday morning, 900 homes are deprived of electricity in the Basque Country, announced on France Bleu Pays Basque Théophile de Lassus, sub-prefect of the department of Pyrénées-Atlantiques and director of the prefect’s cabinet. He also specifies thattrain traffic is completely interrupted between Bayonne and Puyoo. The route is diverted by Dax all day.
School transport and disrupted trains, travel not recommended
In the Pyrénées-Atlantiques, theschool transport to schools and colleges in the Aspe and Ossau valleys, and to the high schools of Pau, Mauléon and Oloron-Sainte-Marie from these areas, are canceled on Monday, said the prefecture on Sunday evening. She “not recommended” parents to take their children to school and calls for “limit” trips “at the bare minimum” in these valleys. The circulation trains between Oloron-Sainte-Marie and Bedous is suspended this Monday. The sub-prefect also specified on France Bleu Pays basque that theTrain traffic is completely interrupted between Bayonne and Puyoo. The journey is hijacked by Dax all day.
Roads cut between Andorra and France
Due to the bad weather conditions and the state of the roads “, traffic on the RN 320 and RN 22, allowing access to Andorra, “was banned from all vehicles”, announced in a joint press release the prefectures of Pyrénées-Orientales and Ariège.
Sunday evening, motorists found themselves stuck in Ariège in the access that leads to Andorra because of an avalanche and had to turn around to go down but all were able to return home in the evening, said the firefighters of Ariège.
Very high risk of avalanches
In the Pyrenees, “the main risk will be below 2,000 to 2,200m altitude where the avalanche activity of wet snow will generalize from west to east”, indicates Météo France. The medium mountain road sectors (above about 1500m) will be affected by many slope flows, and locally by a very large avalanche in corridors where snow has accumulated on Sunday. Above 2,200 m, avalanche activity will increase with the accumulation of snow and the overload caused by the heavier snow. “Large spontaneous avalanches could occur in the usual corridors and threaten the infrastructures of high mountain resorts”, the bulletin continues.
Bad weather until Monday evening
According to Météo France, this episode should continue until Monday evening with a drop in rainfall intensities then, slower over the east of the Pyrenees. It should end on Tuesday morning.