48 French departments placed on orange storm alert
M茅t茅o France has placed 48 departments in the centre and west of the country on 鈥渙range alert鈥� for storms, from today afternoon onwards.
鈥淥range鈥� is the second-most severe alert level.
Storms are expected to hit Nouvelle-Aquitaine first, followed by the Massif Central, passing by Brittany towards the centre an the north of the Rh么ne-Alpes.
Later, the adverse weather is expected to hit Bourgogne and the Nord-Est, the forecaster said.
Storms are expected to last most of the night until the early hours of Monday June 4.
Residents are warned to be alert to heavy rain, thunder and lightning, and even some potential flooding.
people to take care when travelling and taking part in outdoors 鈥渓eisure activities鈥�, and warned against using phones or electronic devices outside during the storms, or otherwise doing anything to attract lightning.
Every year in France, 100-200 people are struck by lightning, of which around 20 die from their injuries - and there are several things you can do to avoid to being hit.
The 48 departments - extended today from the 29 originally placed on orange alert earlier - are:
The Ain, C么te-d'Or, Doub, Dr么me, Eure-et-Loir, Is猫re, Jura, the Loire, Loiret, Manche, Ni猫vre, Orne, Rh么ne, Haute-Sa么ne, Sa么ne-et-Loire, Savoie, Haute-Savoie, Yonne and the Territoire-de-Belfort.
Also affected are Allier, Charente, Charente-Maritime, Cher, Corr猫ze, C么tes-d'Armor, Creuse, Dordogne, Finist猫re, Gers, Gironde, Ille-et-Vilaine, Indre, Indre-et-Loire, Landes, Loir-et-Cher, Loire-Atlantique, Lot-et-Garonne, Maine-et-Loire, Mayenne, Morbihan, Puy-de-D么me, the Pyr茅n茅es-Atlantiques, Hautes-Pyr茅n茅es, Sarthe, Deux-S猫vres, Vend茅e, Vienne and Haute-Vienne.
