After a flood peak reached this Sunday, December 17, the slow descent of the water level begins this week in Charente-Maritime.
On this Monday, December 18, Charente-Maritime is the only French department to remain on orange alert for “floods”, as indicated Meteo France. Vigicrues indicated that the peak of the flood was reached this Sunday, December 17 around 7 p.m. with 6.09 m. Residents of the department should see the water level decrease during this week. In his forecasts, Vigicrues indicates that the dry weather will favor “continued recession on all rivers.” Forecasters also specified that the “largest rivers will continue their slow progress on the plains sectors downstream.”
For the town of Saintes, particularly affected in recent days, the decline is expected from this Monday, December 18 and should continue throughout the week. The mayor of the town, Bruno Dapon, informed AFP, then relayed by The Parisian, that “1000 houses” were reached with the evacuation of “150 people” in “thirty streets”. He also indicated: “Due to the very flat level of the river, we will maintain the security system until the Christmas weekend.” The city has been somewhat redeveloped to allow residents to get around, notably by raising the sidewalks with concrete blocks and planks. Boats and kayaks were also made available for young and old.
The floods caused no casualties but around a hundred firefighters were mobilized according to Le Parisien. The mayor also shared his concern, fearing that similar episodes would recur more frequently: “Before, we had floods every 30 years, now the worry is that it will repeat itself with frequent floods, there are perhaps climate change that needs to be taken into account.” The town of Saintes has indeed already been the victim of floods on several occasions, causing numerous evacuations. The latest one dates back to 2021.
The prefect of Charente-Maritime, Brice Blondel, visiting Saintes this Sunday, December 17, specifies that some residents were barely finishing “rebuilding their homes following the 2021 flood”. At the microphone of Franceinfo this Sunday, the prefect also affirmed that “the state of natural disaster will be requested” so that victims of disasters can “benefit from insurance quickly to repair the damage to their house”. He also estimates an end to the decline after the Christmas holidays and adds that residents risk “spending Christmas with their feet in the water”.