National weather agency Météo France updated the number of departments on orange alert to 31 on Monday morning, as fierce winds lashed much of the country.

 

The town of Camaret, in Brittany, already saw record winds of 193km/hr during Monday morning, reported Europe 1 radio. 

 

An orange alert is the second highest alert on the agency's scale, and urges residents to be vigilant. 

 

The departments on alert are:

 

Cantal, Corse-du-Sud, Haute-Corse, Loire, Haute-Loire, Lozère, Puy-de-Dôme, Rhône, Allier, Charente, Charente-Maritime, Cher, Corrèze, Côtes-d'Armor, Creuse, Finistère, Ille-et-Vilaine, Indre, Indre-et-Loire, Loire-Atlantique, Maine-et-Loire, Mayenne, Morbihan, Deux-Sèvres, Vendée, Vienne, and Haute-Vienne. 

 

Later on Monday morning, the agency added another four departments: Alpes-Maritimes, Dordogne, Gironde, and Var to take the total to 31. 

 

 

Winds are expected to reach up to 150km/hr on Brittany's coastline and 120km/hr inland.

 

Heavy rainfall has been predicted in some areas too. 

 

The agency said that residents could expect “significant damage” caused by the wind and disruptions to local traffic. 

 

It warned that there was a possibility of cuts to electricity and telephone lines. 

 

The agency warned residents in affected areas to stay off the rooftops and to secure objects that are liable to be blown away.

 

Elswhere, the entire island of Corsica was issued an orange alert for flood risks as well as “particularly strong winds”.

 

Residents were told to avoid getting too close to the sea, or indeed anywhere that was already flooded.

 

The warnings are in place until Tuesday at 10am.