Heightened weather alerts have been raised across northern, western, and south-west France today (October 9), as hurricane Kirk begins to cover large parts of the country.
It has seen travel services in the south-west and central France impacted, as well as the closure of outdoor spaces in some areas.
Bordeaux closed its parks on Wednesday afternoon as a precaution due to heavy rainfall and expected strong gusts of wind.
A building collapsed in the town of Saint-Maixent-l'École, in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region. Around 20 firefighters attended the scene, local media reported. A woman in her 40s was evacuated but no one was injured.
In the Seine-et-Marne, there is a ban on outdoor activities due to the dangerous weather, where a red alert (the highest possible) has been put in place for river flooding from the Grand Morin river.
The weather event is now technically an ‘ex-hurricane’ (it is now a category 1 storm and has decreased in ferocity since forming in the Atlantic) however as it passes directly across France, will still bring exceptionally perturbed conditions.
One major concern is falling trees, as the ex-hurricane’s arrival (earlier than usual during the season) comes at a time when many trees still have their leaves, making them more susceptible to strong winds.
There are 35 tier-three orange alerts (the second-highest possible) already in place this morning, for a mixture of heavy rain / flash flooding, river flooding, and strong winds, alongside the one red alert.
Strong rainfall is expected across the north and north-west, with up to 100 mm falling in the north west today, and around 40mm - 60mm elsewhere.
Intense gales are likely – up to 100 km/h to 110 km/h inland, and 120 km/h - 130 km/h along coastal departments with heightened warnings in place.
In the Pyrénées mountains, winds may reach 150 km/h at higher altitudes.
The departments currently facing heightened warnings are:
For heavy rain / flash flooding: Aisne, Alpes-Maritimes, Ardennes, Aube, Eure-et-Loir, Indre-et-Loire, Loir-et-Cher, Loire-Atlantique, Loiret, Maine-et-Loire, Marne, Mayenne, Meuse, Oise, Sarthe, Paris, Seine-et-Marne, Yvelines, Deux-Sèvres, Vendée, Essonne, Hauts-de-Seine, Seine-Saint-Denis, Val-de-Marne, and Val-d'Oise.
For river flooding: Meurthe-et-Moselle, Vendée and Alpes-Maritimes. Seine-et-Marne is on a red alert.
For strong winds: Ain, Doubs, Isère, Jura, Loire, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Hautes-Pyrénées, Haute-Saône, Saône-et-Loire, Territoire-de-Belfort and Rhône.
Elsewhere, most of the country is facing less severe tier-two weather warnings, including for coastal waves. Only departments bordering the English Channel and parts of the south are free of any perturbations today.
Read more: What action is advised with different Météo France weather warnings
Major disruptions expected
People living or visiting affected departments should keep up to date with conditions locally, as information may change throughout the day.
Prominent French media outlets including public service media FranceInfo are hosting live-streams providing minute-by-minute updates of the storm.
Train services in the south-west have been cancelled, including around Toulouse, Tarbes, Pau, and Bayonne, due to strong winds. Services will be disrupted until the end of the day, potentially leading into tomorrow (October 10).
Local authorities have announced park closures in Bordeaux (Gironde), lasting until at least Thursday morning.
In the Seine-et-Marne department, facing heightened weather warnings for both river flooding and heavy rain, outdoor activities including football, jogging, walking in the forest, and water activities have been banned until midday on Friday (October 11).
You can check local social media pages for your department to see if similar closures have been temporarily enacted.
A number of high-speed and traditional trains were cancelled in central France due to heavy rain yesterday, with services affected until midday. There have also been rock falls.
Elsewhere, in the south-east, the cévenol storms have moved eastwards into Switzerland and Italy, although some storms are still forecast later in the day (not connected to ex-hurricane Kirk).
The storms caused heavy damage, particularly around Marseille, where roads were flooded.
Read more: Cars submerged, schools closed: severe flooding hits south of France
Currently, a number of departments are set to retain heightened weather warnings overnight into tomorrow morning, as rains continue around Paris and near the Belgian border, but these should reduce in intensity by mid-morning.
You can keep up to date with live weather alerts via state forecaster Météo France.
They are likely to change throughout the following two days as the nature of the storms progress.
Read more: What to do (and not do) during heavy rain and flood alerts in France
Read more: Storms in France: what to do if at home, out walking or in car
