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.

A succession of recent storms, including Storm Herminia, have caused severe flooding in western France. Residents have been forced to leave their homes by boat and helicopter. In Rennes, one of the worst affected places, around 400 people were taken to safety. The city's mayor said it was the most severe flooding in more than four decades.

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

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.

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.

Storm Herminia fuelled more flooding in north-west France and created dangerous avalanche conditions in the Alps.

Storm Herminia has unleashed downpours in western France, with parts of Brittany put on red weather alert Monday, while eight other French departments were put on orange alert for flooding, flash

France suffers unprecedented flooding as storm Herminia moves into northern Spain, causing plains, trains and ferry cancellations.

Back-to-back storms have caused severe flooding across western France, hitting some areas with the worst flooding in 40 years. Watch this video to see how rescue teams were able to reach people stranded in their homes.

French authorities issued red weather alerts for 3 provinces, while Italian emergency services are responding to damage in multiple regions