Floodwaters Sweep Through Montpellier Streets As Extreme Rain Hits Southern France

Fast-moving brown floodwater rushes down a residential avenue in northern Montpellier Wednesday afternoon, September 30, as extreme rainfall triggers widespread flooding across southern France.

The video, filmed by X user FuNnYfAnEtTe, shows water covering the roadway and washing over the sidewalk along the Avenue Père Soulas and Voie Domitienne area. White foam rides the current as water sheets across intersections, with parked cars and homes lining the flooded street.

Hérault and Gard were under Météo-France red “pluie-inondation” alerts from 8 a.m. as a Mediterranean and Cévenol weather event brought extreme rainfall.

About 262–268 millimeters of rain fell at Prades-le-Lez north of Montpellier, while around 200 millimeters was recorded across the metropolitan area over 24 hours. Rainfall totals reached approximately 335–338 millimeters at Saint-Hippolyte-du-Fort in the Gard.

The Lez later reached red flood alert levels. At Trinquat, the river rose from about 0.92 meters in the morning to 3.93 meters by 4:15 p.m., while Lavalette reached about 4.47 meters, near the October 2014 mark.

Public transportation across the Montpellier metropolitan area was stopped until Thursday. Firefighters reported taking 25 people to safety in Montpellier and surrounding communities, while three campsites were evacuated.

The D986 toward Saint-Gély and the Lien (D68) around Pic Saint-Loup were also closed.