Advertisement

Pyrenees on 'red alert' after avalanche warning

Ben McPartland
Ben McPartland - [email protected]
Pyrenees on 'red alert' after avalanche warning
The Pyrenees in winter. Photo: Geoffrey A Stemp.

Parts of the French Pyrenees were put on ‘red alert’ for the first time on Wednesday due to the severe risk of avalanches burying roads and villages in the area.

Advertisement

France’s national meteorological service Meteo France has issued the ‘alert rouge’ for the departments of Haute-Pyrénées and Pyrénées Atlantique in the south west of the country.

It is the first time the severe weather warning – which represents the highest level, has been issued for the two regions.

Around 50cm of snow has fallen in the area since Tuesday morning, which has already provoked avalanches that left several roads cut off, including the route national 134.

According to French TV station TF1 the areas most at risk are around the Aspe/Ossau ranges.

“There have been huge snow falls in these areas and avalanches could take an unusual trajectory and affect roads and isolated villages,” a local police spokesman told TF1.

Six communes remain without electricity on Wednesday and police are warning motorists in the region not to make any unnecessary journeys in the affected regions.

Have you been affected by the snow in the Pyrenees? Contact us at [email protected]

More

Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.

Please log in to leave a comment.

See Also