than others. The record of rainfall per 24-hour period was established during a storm on 11 July 1977 with of water. In the 1987 storm, wind speeds reached a high of , which is the current absolute record for the city. Transport Several highways serve the commune including the downgraded roads (now the RD 971 from Carentan), (now the RD 924 towards Villedieu-les-Poêles) and (now the RD 973 from Avranches). Granville is located from the A84 (E401). It is also crossed from north to south by the old , today the RD 911, the road to the coast at Avranches. The departing from Paris-Montparnasse railway station has its terminus at Granville station; it is used by TER Normandie long and medium distance services. Several bus routes connect Granville with a network set up by the General Council of Manche, with routes 2, 3, 7, 116, 122, 202, 300, 302 and 305, and the Néva network since December 2014, created and operated in-house by the town of Granville. The allows landings of private aircraft and the Caen – Carpiquet Airport ensures the interregional links. By sea, the port of Granville serves the Chausey Islands and the Channel Islands (44,100 passengers) and hosts freight activities (197,000 tonnes). An urban transport network is planned for 2014 and should cross the whole . Quarters and localities The commune is divided into several quarters: the Haute Ville, the historic heart behind the ramparts; Couraye; La Tranchée, which occupies the former site of an arm of the sea dug by man; Le Calvaire; Le Centre, the current town centre; and Saint-Nicolas, which corresponds to the former commune of Saint-Nicolas-près-Granville, joined in 1962. The quarter of the Agora has been classified priority in the title under the policy of the commune. Toponymy The name of the city is mentioned in the forms of Grandivilla in 1054, Grande Villa in 1056, Grandvilla in 1172 and Granville in 1175. All modern toponymists agree on the origin of the Gran- element: Albert Dauzat and Charles Rostaing have classed Granville with the toponyms of the Grandvelle/Grandville type, whose first term is explained just by the Old French grant ("grand"). François de Beaurepaire followed suit, as well as Ernest Nègre and . According to Édouard Le Héricher ("Avranchin monumental and historic") the origin of the toponym is explained by a character named Grant who received the fief of Rollo of Normandy during