Heavy rains and gusts of wind hit the southern departments of France on Friday, the most serious situation was in the Seaside Alps. Near the commune of Saint-Martin-Vesubie because of bad weather collapsed road bridge.
According to preliminary data, one of the bridge spans could not withstand the sharply increased flow of the Boiron River, which originates from the lake of the same name in the mountains. The publication does not specify whether anyone was injured in the accident but points to serious damage to houses downstream.
“Air traffic is currently disrupted due to weather conditions, but the airport is open,” — reports the administration of the airport of Nice. Passengers are encouraged to follow the schedule of flights on the website of the air harbor, according to which in the last hours, departures and arrivals were carried out, although in some cases there were delays. Several flights from Corsica were canceled.
“In the coming hours, the situation will be very difficult, we expect precipitation that can break records,” warned the prefect of the Seaside Alps, Bernard Gonzalez, on the air of Radio Franceinfo. Previously, he called on mayors located in the department of cities to take additional security measures, in connection with which large shopping centers were closed, in the afternoon trains were suspended, as well as classes in educational institutions were canceled.
According to Radio France Bleu, by 18:00 more than 8 thousand houses were left without electricity, most of them in the communes of Saint-Martin-Vesuby, Belvedere, and Rocker. Rescuers have conducted more than 200 operations and are now searching for four people who went missing during the disaster.
Meteo France’s weather service predicts a rainfall of 150-250 mm by Saturday morning, in some places — up to 450 mm. The service has declared the highest “red” level of weather danger in the department of the Seaside Alps, while another eight departments from south to the central part of the country, as well as two departments in Brittany in the west orange alarm.
