Heavy rain has once again caused deadly flooding in southern France. This follows the devastating floods in the region a week ago where at least 5 people died.
The Var and the neighbouring Alpes-Maritimes region were put on red alert for heavy rain and floods on 01 December, 2019. Meteo France said that 109mm of rain fell in 3 hours in Cannes. The Durance and Argens rivers are at orange alert level in several locations.
Two flood-related fatalities were reported in Var region on 01 December, 2019. One person died in Fréjus and the second in a separate incident in Saint-Paul-en-Forêt.
Three emergency workers were killed in a helicopter crash near near the town of Le Rove, Bouches-du-Rhône, while on a rescue mission to Le Cannet in Var Region.
Var fire department said they received 1,630 calls between 01 to 02 December and carried out almost 150 interventions, including rescues. In Alpes-Maritimes, the fire department received 1,800 calls and carried out over 100 rescues or evacuations.
Over 100 people evacuated their homes in Pertuis in the Var region after the Eze river flooded. Evacuations were also carried out in Le Muy and Fréjus. Around 60 people were evacuated in Mandelieu-la-Napoule in Alpes-Maritimes.
Flooding has disrupted train and road transport, including part of the A8 motorway which was closed for 4 hours on 01 December. Dozens of schools have been closed in Alpes-Maritimes.
Meteo France said that 187mm of rain fell in Cannes in a 24 hour period to 02 December. This is the second highest value on record, after the 195mm recorded on 03 October, 2015.
As much as 630mm of rain fell in Cannes from 02 November to 01 December. Mete France said that this represents 80% of the average annual rainfall (795 mm over the period 1981-2010) and is a record for the period, far ahead of the 487mm recorded in November to December 2014.
Social Media
https://twitter.com/VigiMeteoFrance/status/1201248983689117697
En ce moment || #VigilanceRouge sur les #AlpesMaritimes et le #Var
Fortes précipitations, 40 à 45 mm en 1 heure, 109mm en 3 heures relevées à Cannes.
La plus grande prudence est de mise !
Restez informés : https://t.co/KA0Ij27Eea pic.twitter.com/vpymqy4JzT— VigiMétéoFrance (@VigiMeteoFrance) December 1, 2019
https://twitter.com/SecCivileFrance/status/1201148070425174016
https://twitter.com/sdis_06/status/1201223467363909632
