by Richard Davies, floodlist

Several incidents of storms and floods occurred in France during May and into the first days of June 2022 when Météo-France issued orange level alerts for 65 departments in the country for the first time in 20 years.

On 04 May a tornado, heavy rain and hailstorms struck in Bas-Rhin department.  Flooding and a mudslide were reported in Duntzenheim, where around 5 buildings were damaged.

Severe weather including strong winds, lightning strikes and heavy hail caused damage across the northern Calvados, Eure and Orne departments from 15 May 2022.

Further south, hail and rain caused minor flooding in the municipalities of Saint-Jorioz and Menthon-Saint-Bernard in Haute-Savoie department where firefighters carried out 75 interventions, mostly to clear flood waters from basements.

Fierce thunderstorms, heavy rain and hailstorms caused havoc across the country from 03 to 05 June 2022.

The Ministry of Interior reported on 04 June 2022 that 65 departments across the country were affected by the severe weather. More than 3,500 interventions were carried out by firefighters in response to the severe weather. Damage to power infrastructure left thousands of homes without electricity.

Roads and streets were flooded up and down the country, including in areas of Paris and the northern departments of Yvelines, Seine-Maritime, Eure and Eure-et-Loir. Police rescued drivers from trapped vehicles in Sonchamp, Yvelines. Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said one person died in flood waters in Rouen. Across the country 15 people were injured in weather-related incidents, 2 of them seriously.

Authorities warned that levels of the Eure River are dangerously high in Eure-et-Loir. Local media reported 2 bridges were washed away in the Mayenne department.

Météo-France reported some areas saw a month’s worth of rain in just 12 hours to early 05 June 2022, including 74 mm which fell in Saint Yan (Saône et Loire), and 54 mm in Donnemarie-Dontilly (Seine et Marne). Vichy (Allier) recorded 57 mm and St Didier en Donjon (Allier) 54 mm, both of which are around 75% of the typical June rainfall.
Météo-France also reported around 50,000 lightning strikes in 24 hours to 05 June and winds of 106km/h in Saint Gervais d’Auvergne (Puy de Dôme) with several other areas also recorded wind gusts of over 100 km/h. Hail between 5cm to 8cm was reported in parts of Allier department.