2023-11-09 07:59:59
Photo News.
In the west of Pas-de-Calais, cumulative rainfall will reach 50 to 70 mm, or even 80 to 100 mm locally in Boulonnais and Montreuillois, according to Météo-France. In the North, accumulations will reach 20 to 40 mm, or even 50 mm in the west of the department.
“Our security and emergency services are and will remain fully mobilized. I once once more call on our fellow citizens concerned to be extremely vigilant,” Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin wrote on X (ex-Twitter).
Mr. Darmanin and the Minister of Ecological Transition Christophe Béchu visited the disaster-stricken town of Saint-Etienne-au-Mont, near Boulogne-sur-Mer, on Wednesday.
The Pas-de-Calais prefecture announced the closure of schools on Thursday and Friday in 74 municipalities “particularly impacted by flooding”, around Saint-Omer, Boulogne-sur-Mer and Montreuil-sur-Mer.
The establishments in the Aa and Liane basins had already been closed on Tuesday.
The state of natural disaster will be triggered during a meeting on November 14 for the affected towns in Pas-de-Calais and the North, announced Mr. Darmanin.
REUTERS.
” Big wave “
In nearby Montreuil-sur-Mer, the municipality is ready to welcome disaster victims in a sports hall near the town hall.
The Canche, the Aa, the Hem and the Liane are experiencing “historic” floods, underlined the prefect Jacques Billant.
“Some stations have recorded accumulations of rain which only occur on average once a century,” according to Météo-France. Up to 275 mm of rain in two weeks was recorded in Bainghen, between Boulogne-sur-Mer and Saint-Omer.
The floods have affected living areas where nearly 200,000 people live, 5,200 of whom have been without running water since Tuesday evening, according to the prefecture.
One person was injured in the knee on Wednesday, bringing the death toll to three minor injuries since Monday in the department.
In Arques, near Saint-Omer, a mega-pump was deployed by civil security to pump excess water from the Aa and send it into a neighboring canal in order to “protect a dike put under pressure by the water level,” said Mr. Béchu.
Before being placed on red flood alert for the first time on Monday followingnoon, Pas-de-Calais had already been hit by flooding during storm Ciaran last week.
In the space of 30 days, there fell “the equivalent of six months of precipitation”, the last week alone representing “three months of precipitation”, indicated Mr. Béchu.
The Prime Minister, Elisabeth Borne, sent on
Orange flood alert also concerns Charente-Maritime. On Tuesday, a 70-year-old man died following falling into the Charente river in Fontclaireau, in a flooded area, according to the Angoulême public prosecutor’s office.
Seine-Maritime was placed on orange rain and flood alert on Thursday morning due to a “significant rainy episode” with accumulations of 50 to 70 mm in general and 80 to 90 mm on the coast.
The crisis management plan activated in West Flanders
The governor of West Flanders decided on Thursday to activate the provincial crisis management plan due to a risk of flooding, due to downpours announced by the Royal Meteorological Institute (IRM). “We expect intense precipitation during the night from Thursday to Friday, which might cause the Yser catchment area to overflow,” commented the firefighters.
The population of the municipalities of Lo-Reninge, Alveringem, Poperinge and Vleteren was notified via the BE-Alert system, which allows citizens to be informed in the event of an emergency. In the Westhoek, residents have been facing severe flooding for several days and no immediate improvement is in sight. Lots of precipitation fell once more overnight and more rain is expected Thursday evening and Friday.
Firefighters recommend that residents limit their movements, park their vehicles in a safe place (and avoid garages), protect openings leading to the ground floors and cellars and, finally, cut off the power supply. gas, water and electricity.
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