Violent overnight storms wreak havoc in eastern France, five hospitalized

Violent storms, which caused flooding and significant damage, swept through Haute-Marne, a department in eastern France, overnight from Saturday to Sunday. Five people were taken to hospital. Rainfall within one hour was ten times greater than usual.

Such intense rainfall occurred especially in the central part of the department (e.g., in the towns of Bologne and Meures). By midnight alone, storms had passed through this region twice. Torrents of water appeared on the streets, destroying roads and flooding homes, cars, and agricultural buildings. "The damage is significant," local authorities stated on Facebook.

By midnight from Saturday to Sunday night, firefighters had carried out 80 interventions. Five people were taken to hospital, mainly due to hypothermia. Thirty-four people were evacuated, and several dozen homes were left without electricity.

In the departments in the northern and central-eastern parts of France, an orange weather alert was in effect, but meteorological services lifted it on Sunday morning. Storms and intense rainfall are expected to occur sporadically in southern France.

French media added that the storm caused "within minutes over a yard of water to fall on the streets and then enter houses." According to the Impact portal, state services stated that "because the soils are waterlogged," any new episode of intense rainfall may lead to a "rapid rise in water levels."

In the vicinity of Bologne, Meures, and Sexfontaines, "over 2 inches of water fell within an hour and almost 4 inches within six hours," detailed Météo-France.

On Saturday, for the first time this summer, a temperature of 104 degrees Fahrenheit was recorded in France – thermometers showed exactly 105 degrees in Ceret, in the department of Pyrénées-Orientales near the border with Spain.