ISTANBUL

France's southeastern department of Alpes-Maritimes issued drought alerts Tuesday for its 45 communes.

"After reviewing the proposals from the Water Resources Committee, Laurent Hottiaux, Prefect of Alpes-Maritimes, decided to place 40 communes (across 4 watersheds) under a drought alert and 5 communes (1 watershed) under a heightened drought alert," it said in a statement.

It also noted that a vigilance stage has been triggered for other watersheds in the department.

Alpes-Maritimes outlined measures to be applied at the alert stage, including a daytime ban on watering lawns and gardens, the closure of beach showers, prohibition of water games, along with limits on industrial, agricultural and recreational water use.