Torrential downpours cause floods in France
17 September 2014 18:00 UTC–18 September 06:00 UTC
On 17/18 September parts of southern France had four months worth of rain in a few hours, leading to severe flooding.
05 May 2023
17 September 2014
Rapidly developing convection took place in the Hérault, Gard and Aveyron departments of southern France overnight 17 and 18 September. In Lamalou-les-Bains, in the Hérault department, several people were killed and more than 150 people needed to be taken into shelter. Several major roads were blocked as a consequence of the intense rain.
Météo-France reported that 180mm of rain was recorded in two hours in St-Gervais-sur-Mare and 468mm was measured in 20 hours — more than four months worth of rain.
The Meteosat-10 enhanced infrared imagery (Figures 1 and 2) shows several very intense thunderstorms developed during the night in southern France and in the Mediterranean Sea. One of these intensified just east-northeast of Lamalou-les-Bains at 19:00 UTC and stayed almost stationary for several hours, causing high precipitation rates within the region.
Additional content
Four die in severe storms (Connexion France)
France deadly storms at Herault camping site (BBC News)
Nouveau bilan officiel : 4 morts et 1 disparu à Lamalou-les-Bains (in French)
