Major storms hit the Pyrénées-Atlantiques this Monday evening, causing flooding on the ground floor of the Oloron hospital center, reports “Sud-Ouest”.
Emergencies with their feet in the water. The sky was unleashed this Monday in the South-West, particularly in Béarn. Two agricultural buildings were hit by lightning and 17 interventions were recorded by firefighters in the evening, indicated local radio France bleu. An intervention also took place at the Oloron Hospital Center, where the stormy episode caused a brief flood. “The ground floor, where the emergency rooms are located, experienced up to 30 cm of water,” report our colleagues from South West.
“It rose up to 30 cm in places but the water quickly drained away,” a firefighter told the regional daily.
“It was very violent and very sudden,” said Martin Caloone, the on-call administrator. “There were some problems with blocked evacuation grilles, because the rains drained a lot of leaves. Colleagues managed to unblock these grilles, at the entrance to the emergency room,” he said.
“The rainy intensities are locally very strong”
“Violent stormy showers have circulated over the Pyrénées-Atlantiques then the Landes over the last few hours,” wrote Météo-France in its vigilance bulletin published at 10 p.m.
“The rainy intensities are locally very strong, we recorded 38.2 mm in one hour in Oloron-Sainte-Marie (64),” indicated the agency.
“Locally, it may have fallen more, we also noted hail as well as strong electrical activity.”
The Pyrénées-Atlantiques have no longer been affected by orange vigilance since midnight, but “strong storms, with hail and heavy rain, are expected in the first part of the night in the South-West”, warns Météo-France.
Six departments (Gironde, Dordogne, Lot, Lot-et-Garonne, Tarn-et-Garonne and Gers) are placed on orange alert for the risk of violent thunderstorms until 4 a.m. “The storms will evacuate towards the north-east, decreasing in intensity in the second part of the night”, announces Météo-France.