The département of Alpes-Maritime, which includes the city of Nice, has been placed under a red weather warning – the highest alert level – on Friday.

The weather alert, which begins at 4am on Friday, is for extremely heavy rain and flooding. French weather forecaster Météo France predicts a “particularly intense” episode of storms and heavy rains, which it says are likely to lead to flooding in valleys and urban areas.

It is predicted that between 150mm and 200mm of rain will fall, or up to 250mm on high ground, accompanied by very high winds. 

Seven neighbouring départements are on orange alert for rain and flooding; Haute-Loire, Loire, Rhône (which includes Lyon), Isère (including Grenoble), Drôme, Ardèche, Hautes-Alpes and Alpes-de-Haute-Provence.

Meanwhile coastal areas of Var, Bouches-du-Rhône (including Marseille) and Corsica are on alert for tidal flooding.

On Thursday evening the Alpes-Maritime préfecture announced that as a consequence of the red alert, “all schools will be closed for the day”.