BRUSSELS

Thousands of residents faced rising waters in western France on Friday as severe flooding triggered evacuations, submerged homes and prompted the highest-level alerts in several departments.

Three departments, Loire-Atlantique, Maine-et-Loire, and Charente-Maritime, remained under red flood warnings, while 14 others were placed on orange alert, according to French monitoring services.

Officials said the small town of Cheffes-sur-Sarthe in Maine-et-Loire, home to about 1,000 residents, would be fully evacuated as water levels continued to rise.

The Sarthe River reached 6.63 meters (21.7 feet) on Friday morning, with forecasts pointing to further increases through the weekend, broadcaster BFMTV reported.

Conditions in Angers remained critical as the Maine River surpassed projected levels, climbing about 15 centimeters over the past 24 hours.

Several parts of the city center were reported underwater, heightening concern among residents and local authorities.

Heavy rainfall driven by Storm Pedro, which swept across parts of France earlier this week, triggered the flooding.

According to the national flood monitoring service Vigicrues, "the ongoing floods will continue to spread" despite calmer weather, as river levels remain elevated and are still rising downstream.

Meanwhile, authorities lifted the orange alert for strong winds in southern departments, including Pyrenees-Orientales and Aude, early Friday after gusts reached up to 147 kilometers per hour in Leucate.

In eastern France, four Alpine departments, including Isere, Haute-Savoie, Savoie and Hautes-Alpes, remained under orange alert due to heightened avalanche risks.

Authorities urged residents in affected areas to remain vigilant as emergency crews continued response and monitoring operations.