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RIVERS BURST BANKS AS RAINS FALL FASTER THAN STORM ALEX IN 2020 WHEN 11 PEOPLE DIED Dramatic scenes were captured overnight and early this morning in the south-east of France after intense

storms swept through the area. The Alpes-Maritimes department was on a red alert warning for rain and flooding between 04:00 and 10:00, with three separate downpours hitting the area. Storms

caused thousands of homes to lose power in the area after winds of over 120 km/h hit during the night. Around 3,500 of these were in Saint-Martin-Vésubie, which also faced heavy flooding.

Schools in the department were shut on Friday, and a number of places including parks, beaches, and Nice’s famous Promenade des Anglais were closed to the public to minimise the risk of

accidents. Thousands of people were evacuated from their homes, particularly in the rural _arrière-pays _(hinterlands). The area is a hotspot for autumnal storms – known as _ÉPISODE CÉVENOL

_OR MÉDITERRANÉEN – which bring heavy rains in autumn and winter. For people in the area, the memory of 2020’s storm Alex is fresh in their memory, particularly in Saint-Martin-Vésubie where

over 500mm of rain fell during the storm which caused 11 deaths in France. Below are some clips of the aftermath of the rain and floods in the area. PLANS PUT IN MOTION ON THURSDAY

Preparations for the storm began yesterday evening (October 19), with sports halls and other public buildings converted into temporary shelters for the homeless and those who needed to be

evacuated. > Dans cette #vigilancerouge, nous n’oublions pas les plus fragiles. > Avec @cestrosi et @jennifersalles_ , nous avons pris la décision > d’ouvrir le gymnase Leyrit pour 

les accueillir. Merci à la Croix > Rouge, @CCAS_Nice aux services @VilledeNice #nice06 > pic.twitter.com/nngIHFLzu2 > — Anthony Borré (@anthony_borre) October 19, 2023 Schools were

preemptively shut in the department on Thursday evening, to prevent a rush of drivers and travellers during the morning storms. Bus services were cancelled in the department, particularly in

Nice, however the city’s tram service was still running in the morning. Around 700 firefighters were made available overnight to deal with emergencies across the department, including from

other departments in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur (Paca) region. > Les sapeurs-pompiers des Bouches-du-Rhône sont arrivés à > #BreilsurRoya et se déploient dans la vallée de la Roya 

pour nous > venir en aide si besoin. Merci à eux 🙏 #VigilanceRouge > #AlerteMeteo #TempêteAline pic.twitter.com/1NmBRFj7Tj > — Sébastien Olharan (@SebOlharan) October 20, 2023

SEAFRONTS HIT HARD Coastal areas were hit by a combination of strong winds and heavy rains, especially during the second downpour of the night. Nice’s usually calm bay of Angels (_baïe des

Anges_) saw choppy conditions on the seafront. > Forte houle dans la baie des Anges, bien que pas exceptionnelle à > ce stade. Des vagues de 4 m sont attendues sur le littoral azuréen

> ce vendredi matin. Des routes sont coupées par précaution, à > l’image de la chaussée sud de la Prom’ à Nice. #tempeteAline > pic.twitter.com/VQ1o6KsBX6 > — Christophe Cirone 

(@Cirone06) October 20, 2023 This was the scene around 07:00 this morning: > VENDREDI 20 OCTOBRE 2023#Suivi 07h30 #TempêteAline > Net renforcement du vent sur le département avec 

violentes > bourrasques. Toujours des fortes pluies sur les reliefs maralpins. > #Meteo06 👀⚠️ pic.twitter.com/dGyr2qfYp0 > — Nice Météo 06 (@NiceMeteo06) October 20, 2023 The beach

was shut off to the public at around 08:00, as well as the Promenade des Anglais, the walkway running parallel to the beach. Other towns in the department including Cap d’Ail and Menton

prohibited access to beaches and coastal promenades this morning. The Var river (confusingly found within the Alpes-Maritimes department and not in its namesake) was also running extremely

swiftly this morning after the rainfall. > Le fleuve Var très violent ce vendredi matin. > pic.twitter.com/zY5YgIo2pe > — ici Azur (@iciazur) October 20, 2023 VALLEY VILLAGE HIT

HARD Undoubtedly the area hardest hit was the village of Saint-Martin-Vésubie, where thousands were evacuated overnight. Over 3,000 homes lost power during the storms, and the village’s

public halls were flooded with temporary evacuees. The main concern was the rainfall breaking the banks of the waterways running past the village: early indications were that more rain fell

between midnight and 06:00 than the first 12 hours of 2020’s storm Alex. Over 50mm of rain fell in only a few hours, accompanied by winds of over 100 km/h. > A Saint-Martin-Vésubie, les 

prévisions météo annoncent encore 56 > mm de pluie à prévoir d’ici 8 heures et presqu’autant sur le > reste de la matinée, avec des rafales de vent à 100 km. > #AlerteRouge 

pic.twitter.com/0SvGzdD2dl > — Egalliano06 (@tokai06) October 20, 2023 By 08:00, authorities believed up to 150 mm of rain had hit the village, with torrents of water running through the

streets. River crossings were completely submerged. > À Saint-Martin-Vésubie les passages provisoires du pont du Maïssa > et celui des Trois Ponts sont sur le point d’être submergé. Le

> niveau est très haut aussi à La Madone. #AlerteRouge > pic.twitter.com/Ku8kTwqdmm > — Egalliano06 (@tokai06) October 20, 2023 Social housing buildings were still being evacuated

this morning, over fears of the water levels continuing to rise. > La Vesubie n’en finit plus de gonfler. Il va falloir évacuer le > bâtiment principal des HLM et sa trentaine 

d’occupants menacés > par les eaux à proximité de l’ancienne gendarmerie qui avait > été emportée par Alex. pic.twitter.com/uaGf62P3ZB > — Egalliano06 (@tokai06) October 20, 2023

The Mayor of Nice, Christian Estrosi, arrived at the village early this morning, to visit the area. In the video he posted below to his X (formerly Twitter account), you can see the river

running rapidly behind him. > A Saint-Martin-Vesubie, la situation se dégrade rapidement. Des > travaux en cours et du matériel de transports risquent d’être > emportés. Nous 

procédons à l’évacuation d’un bâtiment. Les > subdivisions du littoral sont en train de monter en renfort sur le > le terrain. pic.twitter.com/nE8SQAI6xm > — Christian Estrosi 

(@cestrosi) October 20, 2023 The full extent of the ferocious water can be seen in the following two videos. The first shows the river bursting its banks and flooding a parking space with

two buses, initially set to be used for evacuations. > À Saint Martin Vesubie les bus prévus pour l’évacuation sont > sur le point d’être emportés pic.twitter.com/c21aC6lV31 > — 

Egalliano06 (@tokai06) October 20, 2023 The second shows the speed of the water cascading over previously dry areas, after breaking its banks. > Le pont de Maïssa à Saint-Martin-Vesubie :

 la route attenante a > cédé. En face la route provisoire en face aussi, plus d’accès > à la Colmiane. Celle en contrebas s’effondre aussi. > pic.twitter.com/xkySxRx1Cx > — 

Nathalie Layani (@NathalieLayani) October 20, 2023 The most recent video taken in the valley shows the river continuing to run downstream. > Montée des eaux sur la Vésubie. 

pic.twitter.com/PoFhcW2krA > — ici Azur (@iciazur) October 20, 2023 READ ALSO SEE: DRAMATIC SCENES OF RISING RIVER WATER AFTER HEAVY RAIN IN FRANCE WEATHER WARNINGS PERSIST IN FRANCE AS

STORMS HIT SOUTH-EAST