PHOTOS: Damage left by violent storms in central-east France
Streets and homes were left flooded and a care home roof was ripped off by strong winds
Fierce rain hit a number of departments. The inset shows a wall destroyed by the storms in the Haute-Marne department.
Copyright (c) 2020 ND700/Shutterstock / Bologne - Conseil Départemental de Haute-Marne
A series of intense storms battered central and eastern France this weekend, leaving several people hospitalised and causing widespread damage across several departments.
In the Haute-Marne up to ten times more rain fell per hour than in normal periods of rainfall.
In one hour, nearly 50 mm of rainfall was recorded in communes including Bologne, Marault, Annéville-la-Prairie and Meures, rising to 100 mm over six hours early Sunday (July 21) morning.
It left five people from the department hospitalised for hypothermia – those who were unable to find shelter inside before the storms began – and led to more than 80 callouts for firefighters.
Across the 15 departments on heightened weather alerts over the weekend, more than 600 callouts were made, announced Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin.
Floods and hailstones
Flooding hit some parts of Haute-Marne, and elsewhere fierce winds kicked up debris.
In the commune of Bologne, Haute-Marne, floods up to a metre high were recorded on some streets, the department’s prefecture announced.
Other departments, including the Yonne, were also hit by flooding.
In addition to rainfall and flooding, violent hail storms hit a number of areas, including the city of Clermont-Ferrand.
Surprisingly, Corsica was also hit by hailstorms, disturbing the summer weather that the island had been experiencing.
Care home roof blown off
In the Loire department, winds were so fierce that the roof of an Ehpad (elderly care home) was ripped off during the storms.
The roof, located in the Rozier-en-Donzy commune, was blew off on Saturday (July 20) evening, with parts swept into the garden, and rain flooding the building.
None of the residents were injured, but 23 people living in the home have needed to be temporarily rehoused whilst the roof is repaired.
The roof was new, having been installed four years ago - after the previous one was destroyed in a hail storm.
You can see a video of the damage here, via a report from public service broadcaster France Info.
No storms are forecast for this week.
Read more: Weather in France July 22 – July 26: Forecast by area this week
