Code Red Issued for Heavy Rainfall in France, Village in Ardèche Already Flooding

france - Code red has been issued in France for heavy rainfall in four departments, with precautions being taken in Haute-Loire, Ardèche, Rhône, and Loire to prevent flooding. Annonay, a village in Ardèche, is already experiencing flooding.

Code red has been declared in France for heavy rainfall in four departments - Haute-Loire, Ardèche, Rhône, and Loire. Precautions are being taken to prevent flooding and high water levels. In Annonay, a village in Ardèche, the center is already flooded.

Météo France is calling for "special vigilance due to the expected very heavy rainfall", according to Belga. The four departments are under a code red alert, while 20 other departments have been issued an orange alert by the French meteorological service.

The center of Annonay in Ardèche is already submerged. Schools and nurseries have been evacuated. Footage on social media shows water flowing through the streets with residents standing in water up to their hips. School and city transportation has been suspended, and seven streets in the city center have been closed to traffic.

Elsewhere in Ardèche, several roads have been closed due to flooding or landslides, with similar measures taken in other departments. The Rhône department prefecture has announced that the flooded highway A47 is closed between Lyon and Saint-Etienne, and train services between the two cities have been suspended.

In Haute-Loire, the focus is on the Lignon river. A high school near the river has been shut down, with evacuations in other areas as well.

"So far, there have been no casualties, but we remain very vigilant", says the Haute-Loire prefect, who has preemptively called in a helicopter and 80 firefighters. "The peak of the flooding is expected around 14:00 and everyone in the Lignon and Loire river areas is being warned," says prefect Yvan Cordier. "We advise extreme caution."