Hérault placed on orange alert for risk of “floods”, a total of 10 departments in the southern half on alert

Hérault was placed on orange alert for “floods” on Saturday March 9 by Météo-France in its 4 p.m. bulletin, joining nine other departments which were already concerned. The reasons for vigilance vary according to geographical areas. On the Atlantic coast, Gironde and Charente-Maritime are on flood alert, as are Gard, Hérault, Ardèche and Var. These last two departments are also placed on rain-flood alert, like Lozère and Alpes-Maritimes. This department on the edge of the Mediterranean is also on alert for the risk of avalanches. Finally, the Loire and Haute-Loire are on alert for wind.

“The expected accumulations in the Ardèche Cévennes will be between 150 and 250 mm (150 to 200 mm on the rest of the Cévennes massif, as in Lozère). In the East of the Var and the Alpes-Maritimes, the accumulations will be between 100 and 120 mm, locally 150 mm”, writes the forecaster. In the Loire and Haute-Loire, “the wind will blow in gusts, often around 90 km/h and will occasionally exceed 100 km/h or even a little more, 105-110 km/h”, he writes. Finally, concerning the Alpes-Maritimes, “very large avalanches are expected from Saturday evening until Sunday afternoon (…) Some avalanches could affect mountain infrastructure and threaten mountain roads in the usual corridors”.