Incessant rainfall on Monday has triggered flash floods in Montpellier city of southern France. The city witnessed record-shattering 252 mm (9.92 inches) of rainfall in just three hours, bringing entire city to a standstill.
By the end of the day, the capital city of the Languedoc-Roussillon region had observed 295.6 mm of rainfall, amounting to 47% of city's annual average rainfall of 24.77 inches. River Lez has also been flowing above the danger mark due this exceptional spell of heavy rain.
The heavy rains caused havoc in the region and state of natural disaster was declared in around 60 towns and villages. Over 4,000 people were taken into emergency shelters overnight because of the rising flood waters. Reportedly, 22 highways and expressways were blocked due to flooding.
France's nodal weather agency, Meteo-France had issued a rare red alert, the highest weather warning level, for the department of Herault that includes Montpellier. Moreover, five nearby departments were also placed in an orange alert due to the rain, which fell from slow-moving thunderstorms in the region.
The situation over the region remains grim as more rain is forecast in the nearby areas with Languedoc-Roussillon set to be affected.
The region once again witnessed the flood just ten days after when similar severe weather had left four people dead in southern France as they were swept away in raging flood waters.
Torrential rainfall through September 16-18 in the Languedoc had resulted in floods. An inflow of moist air from the Mediterranean Sea resulted in a line of heavy thunderstorms that trained across the southern French districts of Gard and Herault for almost 36 hours during these dates. The mountainous terrain of the region contributed to orographic enhancement of the rainfall and the rainfall rates during the storm were phenomenal.
