France issues highest flood alert for Gard and Hérault as Valencia also warned

Météo-France placed the southern departments of Gard and Hérault under its highest warning level for heavy rain and flooding from 08:00 on Wednesday, forecasting an "exceptional" weather situation around the Mediterranean coast. The orange warning level remained in force in the nearby departments of Lozère and Ardèche, and was extended to cover Bouches-du-Rhône from midday the same day.

Météo-France said it expected thunderstorms and heavy rain, first over the Cévennes mountains and then spreading to the plains, warning that water levels in some rivers could rise very quickly. Up to 100 millimetres of rain could fall in a single hour in some places, the forecaster said, raising the risk of significant damage to property and infrastructure.

In Spain, authorities issued a separate severe weather alert for the Valencia area, with heavy rain warnings in effect for Valencia, Castellón and Tarragona, according to Spanish media. Classes were suspended in some schools and other facilities closed as a precaution, while the Valencia Fire Consortium reinforced its services ahead of the expected rain.

Separately, Spanish police detained a suspect accused of starting a wildfire in Tuéjar, in Valencia province, that burned 835 hectares, La Razón reported. The arrest was not directly linked to the current rain alert but came as authorities in the region respond to both fire and flood risks within the same week.

The alerts in southern France and eastern Spain followed weeks of extreme weather across the Mediterranean, including wildfires and heatwaves earlier in the summer. In France's Gironde department, the Saumos wildfire that burned 42,000 hectares over two months, the largest fire in the country since 1949, was declared extinguished this week after being brought under control in August.