France has become bubbling again, as millions of people took to the roads and rails around on Monday as the country became the latest European nation to start easing its coronavirus lockdown.
Traffic returned to the Champs Elysee in Paris as non-essential businesses including hairdressers were reopened, while people were encouraged to return to work, provided they do not stray more than 60 miles from home.
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But as President Emmaunel Macron eased the COVID-19 lockdown in France, which brought a relief to million of people who have been restricted to their homes, heavy rain across the country over the weekend led to a hitch in movement, owing to widespread flooding throughout the city, causing damage to a road.
📷 EN IMAGES – Inondations dans la région : la Gironde et les Landes constatent les dégâts https://t.co/HOKMKMvE8V pic.twitter.com/XKKklCXOTS
— Sud Ouest (@sudouest) May 11, 2020
But even at that, in areas where there was easy passage of people and vehicular movements, it did not take long for crowds to build up on the city’s train and underground platforms, making social distancing all-but impossible and underlining the difficulties every country now faces in trying to find a ‘new normal’ while living alongside the virus.
Earlier before easing the lockdown, AccuWeather had reported that the heaviest of the rain fell across southern parts of the country on Sunday and Sunday night when many areas received 25-75 mm (1-3 inches) of rain. Isolated locations received 100 mm (4 inches) of rainfall within a short period of time.
There were reports of roads bring washed out across the department of Landes from flooded streams. Landes was one of the hardest-hit regions with most located getting 50-100 mm (2-4 inches) of rain over the weekend.
#meteo40 VIGILANCE🔴 Dans les #Landes, persistance et une forte densité 🌧principalement sur la moitié nord-est. Près de 90 mm de 🌧️en cumul dans la Haute Lande. 80 interventions pour @SDIS40 et 7 routes coupées 👉 https://t.co/HkL2m2MNba
Vigilance jusqu'à lundi après-midi. pic.twitter.com/m847QI1w4k— Préfète des Landes (@Prefecture40) May 10, 2020
A Arbis #gironde #inondation 📷Faluma pic.twitter.com/RBKKhPAO2a
— Météo Pyrénées (@Meteo_Pyrenees) May 11, 2020
In Cannes, about 100 mm (4 inches) of rain fell over the weekend which is nearly double the city’s normal May rainfall.
In Paris, 60 mm (2.36 inches) of rain fell from Saturday into Sunday night. Much of this came within a short period of time when thunderstorms produced torrential rainfall. This led to urban flooding on some city streets.
Heavy rain will continue to diminish across the country through Monday night. Tuesday is expected to be largely dry before another round of rain and thunderstorms threatens to return on Wednesday.
