A storm brought heavy rain to France’s Bouches-du-Rhône department on Oct. 20, leaving one person dead near Marseille, prompting evacuations in Istres and disrupting local transport.
Météo-France recorded 140 millimeters of rain in Marseille and 221 millimeters in Saint-Chamas during the 24 hours before its Oct. 20 update. The agency did not specify a cutoff time for those totals. Saint-Mitre-les-Remparts town hall said floodwater carried away a resident who died. It also reported flooding at dozens of homes and businesses and said it had opened a reception center for affected residents.
In nearby Istres, authorities ordered evacuations in part of the Heures Claires district and opened shelters. During a visit, Bouches-du-Rhône Prefect Jacques Witkowski said flood levels had trapped thousands of people in the city. He also reported that soil movement affected 200 homes. Witkowski said the department’s weather alert had been lowered from orange to yellow.
La Métropole Mobilité, the metropolitan transport operator, reported that a flooded road left 11 stops without service on bus routes 30 and 530.
Météo-France said the rain system moved east across southern France after beginning farther west on Oct. 19, passing through Provence toward Corsica. The agency describes Mediterranean rain episodes as short periods of intense precipitation linked to warm, humid air moving north from the sea. These episodes occur most often in autumn and can bring rapid runoff, river flooding and landslides. In a warning issued Oct. 20, Witkowski said saturated ground would sustain runoff through Tuesday evening.
