In the grip of an important episode of rain, the Landes and the Pyrénées-Atlantiques were placed in red vigilance for floods, Friday December 10, 2021. Flooding took place in several cities. Weather forecast.
[Mis à jour le 10 décembre à 23h02] This Friday, December 10, the southwest is under water. Since Thursday evening, heavy rainfall has hit the Landes and the Pyrénées-Atlantiques. Placed in red vigilance by Météo France, the two departments still endure these bad weather for several hours, even though 30 to 50 millimeters of water have already fallen over the past 12 hours in the plain. The peak is expected at the end of the afternoon this Friday. Thus, 20 to 30 millimeters of additional water should still fall by Saturday morning, in the plains, and up to 100 millimeters in the mountains. “The weather remains permanently disturbed in the southwest of France with several rainy bursts which follow one another until Saturday morning. Sustained rains occur in the plains” forecasts Météo Consult, which has not yet classified, for its part, the two departments on red alert.
On BFM TV, this Friday evening, the prefect of Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Eric Spitz, indicated that there were “no injuries”. Gérald Darmanin, Minister of the Interior, for his part announced that only one injured person is to be deplored and that no serious accident has occurred this Friday. “It must be said that the firefighters have intervened more than 250 times in the last 24 hours,” he said. In addition, the latter indicated that “we have started evacuations of population in four municipalities of the Landes” and recalled the importance of respecting this request for evacuation. 400 people are affected.
Floods in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques
In the Pyrénées-Atlantiques, the situation is being monitored very closely. Since the onset of bad weather, emergency services have intervened at least 160 times, according to a report reported by South West, which also mentioned the evacuation of 20 inhabitants, of which 7 had to be relocated. The rains also led to power cuts: around 1,000 homes were said to be without electricity. While the A63 motorway is cut off near Bayonne, 18 primary schools have closed their doors, as well as two colleges specifies the local daily. The various rivers that cross the territory (the Nive, the Saison, the Bec de Gave, the Gave de Pau and the Gave d’Oloron) have been placed in orange vigilance.
Floods in the Landes
The Landes are also affected by bad weather, while the Adour sees its level rise by 3cm per hour. “The Bec du Gave section is placed in red vigilance for a risk of major flooding. The maximum is expected at Peyrehorade at the end of the evening, it could reach levels equivalent to those of the June 2018 flood”, also specifies Vigiecrues. For its part, Météo Consult indicates: “in Peyrehorade, the Gave de Pau continues to rise. With a water level reaching 5.02 m, the reference flood of June 2013 with 4.73 m has been beaten”.
Flood images
In a few hours, heavy precipitation fell on the towns of Landes and Pyrénées-Atlantiques. In Peyrehorade or even in Bayonne, the water rises in the streets. Laruns was hit hard. “It has fallen 200 millimeters over the last 24 hours, an absolute record of precipitation since the station opened in 1964”, specifies Météo Consult. Saint-Pée-sur-Nivelle is also affected.