France placed swathes of Brittany in the west of the country on red weather alert Monday as a violent storm brought flood levels not seen in decades.The "Herminia" depression has unleashed downpours especially in the Ille-et-Vilaine department,

Torrential rain, gusting winds, and major flooding caused widespread travel disruption, prompting evacuations and a series of red weather alerts

Parts of Brittany were on the highest weather warning on Monday morning as more heavy rain is expected after floods hit western France over the weekend - more than 400 people have been evacuated from the town of Rennes.

More than 1,600 people have fled their homes in western France as a third major storm in a week brought record rainfall and extreme flooding. Storm Ivo hit areas already struggling with flooding from storms Eowyn and Herminia.

Residents in western France used boats to escape their flooded homes on Monday as rivers and waterways overflowed their banks following successive storms that battered Normandy and Brittany. According to the Associated Press, the national weather service had issued flood and wind warnings as Storm Herminia hit Spain, France and parts of the UK.

Rennes, France: Residents in north-western France have used boats to escape their flooded homes as rivers and waterways broke their banks after successive storms battered Normandy and Brittany.

Storm Herminia caused road closures in some areas of France. About 400 people were evacuated from homes in and around the city of Rennes, at the heart of the hardest-hit region. The mayor called it the city's worst flooding in more than 40 years and said in a statement that the waters weren't expected to start receding until Wednesday.

Storm Herminia triggered the worst flooding in four decades in parts of northwest France and created dangerous avalanche conditions in the Alps.