South of France on alert for storms and floods

Météo France, the country’s meteorological service has issued Orange alert warnings – the second highest grade of alert – for the départements of Gard, Vaucluse and the Bouches-du-Rhône.

Heavy rain and storms are set to hit the area on Monday afternoon, which could lead to flooding.

The alerts are set to stay in place until Tuesday, 3am.

“These storms could be violent and accompanied by electrical activity and intense rainfall which could see 80mm to 100mm of rain fall in short period of time,” said Météo France on Monday morning.

The Orange alert  – which asks residents to be vigilant especially when travelling – may also be issued for the neighbouring department of the Var.

The alerts come just over a week after the Côté-d’Azur was ravaged by flooding following violent storms, which left 20 dead, including one Briton.

The resort town of Cannes was left under a sea of mud and water and numerous towns, including 18 in the Var, were declared to be in the state of natural disaster.

The storms left an estimated bill of around €550 million.

Météo France came under fire as some local politicians accused it of underestimated the violence of the storms.

SEE ALSO – In Images: Floods ravage French Riviera