In France, more than 10,000 homes are without electricity in the north of the country. Nord-Pas-de-Calais affected by major flooding for the second time in less than 3 months. An exceptional situation which puts the nerves of the inhabitants to the test.
3 mins
With our special correspondent in the disaster areas, Nathanaël Vittrant
In several towns and villages in the region, it is very difficult to travel because many roads are blocked, invaded by water overflowing from the rivers. Villages cut in two, where to move from one side to the other, at best, you need boots, you have water up to your thighs, sometimes up to your waist, and then in certain streets, we only travel by boat anymore.
The region’s firefighters are mobilized, they have received reinforcement from 120 firefighters and soldiers from other French regions. So, there are meadows completely flooded, tennis courts, children’s play areas, factories under water, but the most difficult, of course, are the homes. Sometimes, it’s just the garden that is affected, we put sandbags here and there to protect the cellars and the ground floors, but that wasn’t always enough.
“We can’t take it anymore”
As a precaution, residents had to be evacuated when there was no other choice. In the town of Blendecques, 5,000 inhabitants, the town’s two schools were flooded, and a retirement home also had to be evacuated. The most difficult thing is that very often the residential areas concerned have already been affected in November. “We can’t take it anymore,” a resident confided to me. Some had just finished drying their house, reinstalling the furniture, negotiations with insurance companies were sometimes still in progress, and we will have to start all over again.
A fed-up that is expressed and it is no longer only directed against the elements. In November, there was a form of inevitability expressed, but also a lot of solidarity between residents. Solidarity is still there, we come to lend a helping hand, help put the furniture away, shelter a neighbor, but there is also anger expressed. Two floods in three months are too many. Some people wonder what the water retention ponds that were built were used for. In Blendecques, for example, in the street which was flooded, a sign still proudly announces the creation of a rainwater management basin.
Precipitation doesn’t explain everything…
We know the causes: firstly, it rained a lot, it’s stupid, but it’s still the first thing, the rainfall in recent months has been exceptional. And it works best on already soggy soils. It’s not just the rivers that are overflowing, the water tables too, including in areas relatively far from the watercourses. Then, there is a question of river management, they have been artificialized a lot, they have been deprived of the water arms which served as natural buffers, the same thing for the bocages, so there will be work to be done on that. . The French Minister of the Environment is expected in the region tomorrow, we will see if he has any announcements to make on the subject.
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