Cévennes episode: Aude and Hérault on orange rain-flood vigilance


Heavy rains were expected to fall on several departments in the South of France, starting this Friday, March 11. A new Cévennes, or Mediterranean, episode was indeed to begin in the evening to last until Sunday March 13, at a minimum.

Orange “rain-flood” vigilance has also been launched in two departments of the country: Aude (11) and Hérault (34). A Mediterranean episode is even anticipated there until Monday.

According to Météo France, “the activity will strengthen in the evening and will persist the following night, giving significant accumulations on the Cévennes relief”.

The accumulations could exceed 400 mm on the Cévennes reliefs, details the regional daily Ouest France. In Hérault, up to 180 mm are expected in the plain and 80 to 120 mm in the coastal zone.

In addition to Aude and Hérault, Gard and Pyrénées-Orientales should also be affected. These rains could also persist in Roussillon until Monday or Tuesday morning.

An intense meteorological episode

This phenomenon, which meteorologists call the “Cévennes episode”, occurs most often in the Cévennes region, this mountain range forming part of the Massif Central, located between the departments of Lozère, Gard and Hérault.

These are generally very violent and highly localized stormy episodes. They are most often accompanied by torrential rains, up to more than 200 mm of precipitation in 24 hours. This intense meteorological episode leads in a large part of the cases to flooding.





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